Pyramid schemes, scams & the
truth about DuePoint.
Is DuePoint legitimate, are they a pyramid scheme, are they scammers?
With so many scams flooding South Africa it’s natural that South Africans are automatically skeptical. Let’s take a closer and informed look at DuePoint – to answer whether their offering is legal and ethical.
If you’re not interested in pouring through the data, the short answer is that DuePoint has proven over the past decade of operation to be a legitimate business that has complied with multiple South African regulators as well as having a reputable track-record -certainly not a pyramid scheme or scam. My research has yet to discover a single individual who claims to have lost money to DuePoint. If you’re interested in how I’ve come to this conclusion please keep reading.
Introduction to DuePoint
DuePoint is a South African registered business and a registered financial services provider. What sets them apart as such is that they offer South Africans the opportunity to create a stream of income. This opportunity is afforded to the public at a few hundred Rands per month – which is hardly a lot of money and certainly a clue to them being legitimate. The Ponzi and pyramid schemes I’ve come across in the past almost always request large sums of so-called investments or once-off deposits.
Their history
DuePoint certainly seems to be transparent in who they are. Many of the scams I come across are fly-by-nights without any history or track record. DuePoint has many sources that we can reference that reflect their roots and professional relationships. The founder, Brendan Benfield, was co-founder of Prime Meridian Direct (PMD) which is a reputable insurance company still being run by his brother, Stuart Benfield. Their father, Dr. Brian Benfield co-founded Clientele Life, another long-standing insurance company – certainly neither illegitimate businesses. Over the last decade DuePoint has built various partnerships with reputable local businesses as documented in one of their videos available online (see references page).
Regulation and law
Immediately we can verify their legitimacy as a financial services provider thanks to the South African financial sector being well regulated. The South African financial regulator is the Financial Services Conduct Authority (FSCA). They have legal oversight over all businesses offering any financial product or service. Visit the FSCA website here and search for DuePoint for external verification of their FSP license.
As a legal requirement DuePoint must display its financial licenses on its premises and any collateral must reflect their FSP number. Checkout the references page to see a photo of their licenses on display (compliments of a guest who had visited their head office in Johannesburg).
In one of their training videos they lay claim to presenting their business plan to regulatory entities such as the National Consumer Commission and FSCA (previously the FSB).
Pyramid and Ponzi schemes & scams
Beyond DuePoint’s financial products they also market the opportunity to create income. I suspect this is the aspect of their business where most people become cautious – and rightly so. The opportunity comes at a fairly low cost of only a few hundred Rand per month i.e. no request for large deposits and no promise of easy riches.
Again many of the endorsements, partnerships and history of this business point to the fact that it’s highly unlikely that they would engage in any sort of illegal scam. Pyramid and Ponzi schemes are defined and outlawed in South Africa as defined in the Consumer Protection Act. You can find my links to it here. The primary indicator of a pyramid scheme is the lack of any tangible product. DuePoint of course has many financial products as well as services (called Daily Benefits).
South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) give us helpful information in how these scams operate.
I think most sceptics get stuck on the fact that DuePoint must be a pyramid scheme because they explicitly state that their members may not sell or promote any of their products. This does not infer that they are a pyramid scheme because their members are not responsible for the sale of their products. Their process relies on members only facilitating the introduction of new people to DuePoint and it’s upon this introduction that DuePoint promotes and facilitates the online purchase of their products.
Network marketing
Something else I’ve come across is many people equate pyramid schemes with multi-level/network marketing companies. The former is illegal and latter is not. There are many network marketing businesses that operate legitimately and successfully around the world e.g. Amway, Tupperware, Avroy Shlain (SA), Herbalife, etc.
Regardless of one’s personal feelings towards network marketing these businesses operate in free markets and their success is dictated by the market i.e. consumers or customers. It’s this market that will deem them valuable or not.
DuePoint displays the Direct Selling Association (DSA) logo on their website advertising their membership. The DSA oversees ethical best practice of its members.
Will you make money or lose money
The golden question – but an easy one to answer. Rather than asking will you make money with DuePoint, the question should be “Can” you make money with DuePoint. The whole premise of DuePoint’s income opportunity is to work their system by introducing new members that ultimately become product owners. ‘No work, no pay’ as they say. An income opportunity that requires no effort is definitely one to avoid.
Can I make money?
There is plenty of testimony of member’s success stories on their social platforms. Long-term members’ testimony is always a good sign. Scams hardly ever survive beyond twelve months. DuePoint testimony goes back to 2016. I’ve linked some of them here.
Can I lose money?
I cannot find any DuePoint member expressing anything particular negative about the business. There are one or two couch potatoes on social media warning against the business but offer no relevant information backing up their opinion and they don’t seem to ever have been part of DuePoint – so I’ve ignored those. Their social media ratings are very high – remember companies cannot delete reviews (Google and Facebook) so DuePoint’s high rating indicates a generally happy member base.
Conclusion
In summary, after looking at DuePoint in great detail, I believe them to be a legitimate business opportunity for South Africans. They mention that June 2024 will mark the hundredth consecutive month that they have paid their longest standing members.
I urge you to take a look for yourself, checkout the Important Links page – a decade old business that operates under the financial regulator, has physical offices in Johannesburg and an executive team available at their events that you can speak to in-person and professional relationships with many reputable businesses.
I think it’s safe to say that if you’re looking to buy any of their financial products or take advantage of their income opportunity they’re a business you could be confident in joining.