How I become a recharge card vendor.

The convenience we enjoy today because of how almost everything has been digitalized is beautiful. I still have a small experience with going to the bank with my dad for huge withdrawals whenever he has a new project.

We always stayed in the bank queue for a long time waiting for our turns; things were very slow and slightly unorganized compared to what we are experiencing today, but making transactions or withdrawals now requires simple processes that don't take time; it's as easy as locating your mouth with a spoonful of fried rice even in the dark.

The ease we experience today is top-notch, and it keeps getting better. We can now send or do withdrawals from the ATM and even on mobile bank apps for a token or even free.

Banks no longer have queues except for the customer service unit, and even for that, I prefer making calls or chatting with my bank's customer care whenever there is a problem, and they respond swiftly. If the issue is beyond what they can resolve easily, they will request me to come to the bank.

All this ease has exposed us to many mistakes and errors that only we can be responsible for because nothing can be done on our bank account without us giving consent directly or indirectly. Unlike before, when we needed to appear physically in the bank or write a check carrying our signature before withdrawing, and the bank would be sure it was us, just a PIN or fingerprints will do now, so our bank account security burden has reduced for banks.

We now have the task of protecting our bank accounts because a mistake from us can cost so much that our bank wouldn't be able to do anything about the consequences of our mistakes.

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No one is above mistakes, and some are very costly, like the one I made when I newly started purchasing airtime online. It was fast and easy; I don't need to leave the comfort of my home before recharging for calls or data, which is super.

I wanted to recharge as usual after getting some money from Dad. It was about forty thousand naira for upkeep and part payment for school fees. I always do a 3k monthly subscription, but instead of buying data, I buy airtime and buy data with the airtime.

I went through the process and just put my phone away because I was making some fried snacks at that time too. After making the snacks, I did my data subscription from the airtime balance and was shocked to see the balance of 27,000 as my airtime.

I rushed to check my bank transaction history, where I discovered that the recharge I made was 30,000. I started sweating, and my hands were shaking while I dialed the customer care number.

Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do about it, and I couldn't tell my story to anyone except one of my male friends in school. He taught me how to transfer airtime, and I started hawking my airtime from one hostel and class to another.

Students were willing to buy but for a cheaper rate, and I didn't have a choice. I dropped my price for bulk purchases and had to sacrifice over 3,000 worth of airtime.

I felt really offended even though it was my mistake and just became extra careful with any transaction. I can't tell how I made the mistake, but getting to sell the airtime, even though it lasted up to three weeks, was a relief.

Posted Using INLEO