Over the past couple of years several money transfer companies have emerged in Zimbabwe. Just a few years back they were only a few; at one point the number was so small. You may recall that there was a time when Western Union, Mukuru, and World Remit were the most common. Today there are many options to consider for money transfers into and out of Zimbabwe. I have over time closely observed how most of the newer money transfer companies are operating. There are some areas that those Zimbabwean money transfer companies need to improve on.
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) – Slow And Mostly Redundant
An SOP is a prescribed set of steps to be taken for repetitive use as a practice in accordance with agreed-upon specifications aimed at obtaining a desired outcome. With money transfer companies there are two major SOPs – sending and receiving money. For many money transfer companies, these processes are often quite slow and redundant. Many of you will attest to how you literally dread it when you have to go collect your money. This is because many of the money transfer companies in question have inefficient SOPs. There are several possible causes of this dynamic.
One of them is staff-related – something to look at later on in this article. The other aspect is system-related, in two ways, amongst others. One, there are some parts of the SOPs that are redundant. For instance, I know of a money transfer company where when collecting money you do not fill out anything. The SMS message you received and your ID document will be enough. Yet there are some companies where you have to fill out something and even do something on your phone. That just shows you that there are some redundancies that can surely be gotten rid of. Two is the nature of software or operating system at play.
Intermittent System Uptime
It is commonplace to find money transfer companies where system uptime tends to be intermittent. Even the speed of the system may often time be slow. Errors also may tend to occur. All of this and more point to an efficient operating system. In software or app development, these are things that can be worked on. Unfortunately, there are two dynamics I often see at play. One, companies cut corners and outsource from cheaper providers in a bid to save costs.
Two, they often choose the wrong partners also in a bid to save costs. All of this compromises the operating system which results in the end. I understand that internet connectivity is a huge hurdle in Zimbabwe. This is especially so with mobile network operators. However, that is not a valid excuse. Rather than should prime money transfer companies to find ways to make operating systems leaner and lighter. That way they will not need large amounts of bandwidth. This will reduce downtime and also streamline operations.
Poor Human Resource Management
There are general issues of concern when it comes to human resource management. There are many layers to this issue. The first one is on recruitment and training aspects. There is a general tendency to choose people who are usually not that tech-savvy. Understandably there is a thrust to not employ overqualified people but that should not compromise on quality. Then there are general concerns apparent from a lack of proper training. Yes, some money transfer companies do train their staff to become sufficiently tech-savvy. However, there is a general concern about customer service skills. Many agents for money transfer companies lack good communication skills. A number of them have very low emotional intelligence. In this line of business one deals with wide-ranging customers.
There are also days when there is pressure due to more customers needing to cash out monies received. If one is not properly trained on how to handle customers, poor customer service becomes inevitable. Another dynamic that feeds into that is poor remuneration and poor staff treatment. You will be amazed to find money transfer companies that do not exclusively pay staff in US dollars. Yet they can afford to pay them exclusively in US dollars. It is also typical for agents to be assigned way more responsibilities not commensurate with what they are paid. At the end of the day, all these factors compromise customer service. Money transfer companies better do better on this.
Weak Digital Footprints
A money transfer company is a new-age type of business. They are typically associated with being tech-savvy. Yet you will find some money transfer companies that have weak digital footprints. It is disturbing to find that some money transfer companies are barely active online. At the most basic, a money transfer company must have a website and active social media accounts. They should also have an active WhatsApp contact; even a chatbot. On all these platforms they should be proactive in responding. Yet these are areas in which some money transfer companies are found wanting. There is a need to have at least someone dedicated to social media management and rolling out content marketing.
Poor Customer Query Handling
With money transfers, issues are usually bound to happen. Yet in some cases customer query handling is murky. I was surprised sometime to learn of a money transfer company where they do not do reversals. This complicates customer query handling. Usually, the emergence of queries is not even a customer’s fault. As such the process of addressing queries should not become a long exhausting process. This is an area many money transfer companies need to improve on.
These are areas that can definitely be improved on; they are malleable. That is why we had to have this discussion to make a clarion call to money transfer companies in Zimbabwe. Concentrate your efforts on creating the best customer experiences above all else. When you operate like that, every other pertinent aspect will just automatically fall into place. Streamline your operations!
