Point of Sale
In the past I've talked about how most times, we don't realize how dangerous a situation could have gotten, simply because it never really got to that level.
A example of that is like crossing the highway when there's clearly a flyover bridge meant for pedestrians. That situation could easily go from nothing to someone losing their life in a minute, but just because it didn't happen, no one gives it a second thought.
Well, I have another one of those situations right now; it's just not a life-or-death kind of situation like that of the highway.
Over here in my country, a very lucrative business is the point-of-sale business, where, unlike most countries where POSs are used mainly to carry out transactions for goods and services done, POSs over here are the next best thing after ATMs. And how this works is that whenever you're in need of cash but can't walk all the way to the bank or ATM, you look for the closest shop where they have a POS machine, and then you give them your ATM card (or you make a mobile transfer to them), and they give you cash but for a fee.
So let's say you want N3000 cash (three thousand naira cash); you give them your ATM card, which they slot into their POS machine, and they would withdraw N3100 (three thousand, one hundred naira). The extra N100 added would be the charge/fee they get to keep for helping you make that withdrawal, and then they hand you your ATM card and the N3000 cash you had withdrawn.
The higher the amount of money you want to withdraw, the higher the fee you would be charged for that withdrawal.
Well, I do this thing where I would be in my house and make these transfers to a shop down my street and then send someone (most likely one of my neighbors who's already on his way downstairs) to help me collect the money from the shop.
I've done this countless times, and it has gotten to a stage where the lady who's the owner of that shop no longer confirms my transactions or double-checks to see if I truly am the one who sent whoever it is to collect the money. The moment they tell her that I sent them, she just opens her purse and hands them the money. Sometimes, the transfer hasn't even gone through on my end, but I already got the cash from her.
Now, inasmuch as such a level of trust is very much appreciated by me, it is something that could go sideways quickly. Because all it takes is for one of these neighbors to just go to the shop and lie that I sent them. They would take whatever amount of money they wanted from her and just runaway.
It is very easy for people to just get up and leave areas like this without ever coming back because most of them aren't students, just kids who got bored with staying at home and decided to move away.
So, in order to stop a disaster like this from happening and not put myself in trouble, the only and wise thing I can do is to stop asking people to help me get money from that shop. Whenever I make my transfers, I will get my lazy ass up and go get my money myself.
yeah, that moment when the shop owner hands over cash before the transfer even reflects is the kind of trust that can go wrong qucikly. Your plan to cut out the middle person keeps both you and her safer, and and it still respects the convenience that POS brings in your area, plus it earns you a tiny workout. Maybe add a simple code word on days you must send someone, just to keep things truly clear without drama.
Yeah. I'm thinking of either going myself all the time, or instructing the lady not to give anyone anything unless I give her the go ahead by giving her a nod (from her shop, she can see me clearly upstairs at my place).
makes sense. The nod is simple and defnitely better than nothing, but add a one word code with it so no one can fake a nod from afar, and and tell her to wait till funds reflect before handing anything out. If visibility is poor one day, fall back to no release. Would a small daily cap for any helper also make you sleep easier?
I think for financial matters, it's good not to involve others because it may give you temporary advantage but it can also give you a huge blow. It's better to stay in safe side.