Drama ensued on Friday as a Twitter user and popular propagator of savings and investment fintech, Cowrywise, known as Funmi Oyatogun (@funmioyatogun) called out Cowrywise on Twitter requesting to resolve a case of theft of millions of Naira from her account on the Cowrywise platform.
According to her Twitter thread, she resorted to calling the company out publicly on social media because after several attempts over seven months to get a quiet resolution to the issue had proven abortive, as the firm treated her complaint with flippancy.
You can check out the thread below:
The biggest lesson I learned this year is that everybody treats you nicely because of what they get from you. For years, I was a happy customer and megaphone. Then my money gets stolen and *boom*, horrible treatment.
— Funmi Oyatogun (@funmioyatogun) September 4, 2020
Thanks @cowrywise for this lesson. Painful but worth it.
Interestingly, Cowrywise's slow response to Funmi's public request on Twitter was equally perceived as flippant by many Twitter users. Their response seemed to shift responsibility for the theft to the customer in question, insinuating that she must have carelessly allowed the culprits access to one or more of her account essentials such as her account PIN, OTP or email, and then reported the theft late.
Check out Cowrywise's response:
Hello @funmioyatogun,
— Cowrywise (@cowrywise) September 4, 2020
Cowrywise takes the issue of security seriously. In our 3 years, we have never experienced fraud on Customer funds. Nobody can access your account without your password and pin. And we advice our customers not to give out their credentials. (1/4) https://t.co/T3RmOEppvJ
While it is still unknown whether the security breach was caused by the customer or the company, Cowrywise's handling of the issue has irked several Twitter observers, some of whom have threatened to close their account(s) with the firm.
Next time. Start with an apology and add lots of empathy. E.g "we're so sorry about this and we're terribly sorry it's taking longer than expected..." Like so.. not the jargons you typed up there. Customers patronize you with emotions don't be emotionless.
— Afara Seun (@seunafara) September 4, 2020
For many, the fact that Cowrywise had confirmed that the theft happened on their supposedly secure platform was the more reason to prioritize getting Funmi a refund while they see to solving what caused the security breach. However, the company's blame-shifting response has left a notable dent in customer's trust in Cowrywise, and may have led to an imminent bank run. Not a good development for the burgeoning fintech space in Nigeria.
now that bank interest has crashed to 1.25% and @cowrywise is not safe. Where do we keep our money?
— Chummie ® (@chummie_cc) September 4, 2020
This news was brought to our notice at Inclusion Times through the LinkedIn account of a media tracking and listening expert, Adebanke Falade, who tracked the crisis from inception to date.
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