I am the CEO, ePAY-KENYA and would like to set records straight to address this topic in which ePAY has been adversely mentioned:

1. ePAY has NEVER (since its inception) tried to portray or market itself as being representatives of Paypal in Kenya. To the contrary, all our users (and they run into thousands) are fully aware of this fact. It is common knowledge that Paypal has not found it prudent to partner with any bank in Kenya (and the rest of Africa part from South Africa) for the purpose of funds withdrawal.

2. In our 5 years of service to Kenyans who benefit from our services, we have NEVER had a single case where ePAY failed to meet its obligation towards any of our current and previous customers as we understand better the role played by the word REPUTATION in our business.

3. Some of our good customers happen to be administrators of several blogs and what they write about us is largely influenced by their experience with us as customers. Singling out Walter Akolo and accusing him of being partisan in his blog reviews without any factual evidence is in bad taste, disrespectful and more personal than objective.

4. Contrary to the impression created by Alma, I need to point out that the majority of our customers (+90%) are very well informed people who spend enough time online working and looking out for best deals among the paypal money transfer options.

5. ePAY has worked very hard to build a solid reputation. Our professional attitude is unmatched and as one of the bloggers commented, not even paypal can match our level of customer care. We work had to maintain that and are continuously working hard towards improving our services. We have never marketed ourselves as a cheaper option like many have, but a reliable and sure service provider and this remains the bedrock of our customer loyalty some of who have learnt the hard way that cheap can sometimes end up being too expensive.

6. Having captured the above points, we live in a free world where people have options. That is why we have some people choosing to fly to Nairobi from Mombasa while others choose to drive, yet there are those who will take a bus. Either of the three options will take you to Nairobi but then each comes with a different level of comfort and convenience. At the end of the day, the determining factor is affordability to the user. If Alma is comfortable doing her shopping in Ukwala because the goods are cheaper, West Gate will always be flooded with others who feel comfortable spending more on their shopping as they might be looking out for more comfort and convenience. Now that we are at it, why does Alma despise home grown solution with so much passion? What Payoneer is doing is no different from what we are doing, the only difference is that they have their offices in politically well placed territories. How else would you describe a company who can open for you a bank account in the USA with an unverified Kenyan ID? ePAY's KYC beats that of Payoneer and Paypal by far. Be fair in your assessment by addressing real issues Alma before you start condemning people by using such words as scam, spam without actually knowing their actual meaning. You have launched a scathing attack on Walter yet on his blog, he has given more 'airtime'to Payoneer card option. Have you ever asked yourself why ePAY is still in business even after the first blogs on payoneer hit the internet about 3 years ago? Those are the real issues you should be discussing on such a serious forum. 1. For some of our customers, withdrawing and getting paid within the hour is a convenience (instead of waiting for 4 days). 2. Master card ATMS are scarce. Why bother travelling so far to access such an ATM when I can craw to the next Mpesa kiosk and withdraw? May be convenience. 3. The 40k per day payoneer limitation does not work for the some of our customers whose withdrawals are way larger. Do I wait to withdraw 120k in three days or can I withdraw the same within the hour via ePAY? The answer I think is convenience. There are many others but I think I have made my point clear.

7. ePAY rates are dictated by the fee we pay the third party gateways, who tend to be extremely expensive. We can choose to partner with cheaper partners but then we are way too well informed about the good old adage, cheap can end up being very expensive.

8. Alma touched on Moneybookers (now Skrill). Again, our customers are well aware about the bank option and they (unlike you) have done their math. First of all, all withdrawals below USD 300 via a bank will attract more fees than ePAY (that is a scientific fact). What is worse is that after parting with so much to the bank, you can only access the money after 3 to 4 days (some banks even exaggerate to 5 days). Again, we are looking for convenience which comes with affordability this time.

With my 8 points, I leave it to the readers to judge who in deed is out of order. For Almy, a little background research on issues before going public is highly recommended.

Ala tena umepotea.

So your buddy tells you that someone is calling you a scam and you come and write a long letter and then disappear when 1 question is asked?

What you don't seem to understand is that it doesn't matter if you 90% of your clients are happy or if you have 1 million clients.

What matters is that you and your blogging click are passing off your service as legit even with a site lock it sign on your site. So the common Kenyan will assume that you are a legit company sanctioned by Paypal to do what you know is not true.

Let me guess what you are doing.

You have someone send the money to person A, person A then sends the funds to your Account or a number of accounts. You then transfer the funds to your gullible client. You then charge for this service.

That my friend is totally against Paypal TOS. Could that be the reason why your services were shut down sometime this year?

I have no problem with you making money how you see fit. I actually think that you have a niche there. But stop passing off your service as legit.

Just last week we had another of your ilk called Liberty Reserve shut down. It had lasted longer than yours and had more clients worldwide. I know of many Kenyans who got caught up with that scam after I had warned them against it.

So stop writing long letters trying to justify what you are doing.

It is wrong and you know it and 90% of your clients are either lazy or gullible.

If you are so sure about your services, please post your Paypal email here and I will send you payment. Then I can ask Paypal support if you are allowed to run that service of yours. You can also send it to my email if you wish. Mine is emasaa80@yahoo.com and its also my paypal email.

But please tell your blogger friend Akowally to promote only legit methods of transacting business online. You are the guys giving my industry a bad name with your quick fixes that aren't necessary and are not kosher.

My friend, do not chest thump, calm down and carry on your business without generating too much heat. Your troubles may be just a fax away.


https://cms.paypal.com/c...a/infringementreport.pdf

#Alma, following statement from you is totally wrong and misplaced, but again you stated that you were guessing, so no offense. I however suggest that you stop misleading people any further with guess work. Next time try to respond to the issues raised as opposed to beating about the bush with what would otherwise be useful tips to beginners as opposed to using those 'tips' to target a specific entity. We offer many more services to Kenyans than Paypal withdrawals and therefore your prayer of 'closure of ePAY' might not just be answered yet. Stick to objective advise as opposed to dismissing entities based on a technicality. Wazuans can then take you serious.

---

You have someone send the money to person A, person A then sends the funds to your Account or a number of accounts. You then transfer the funds to your gullible client. You then charge for this service.
That my friend is totally against Paypal TOS. Could that be the reason why your services were shut down sometime this year?

---

#aemathenge

The information is absolutely misleading and I want to assure you that not a single account has been limited by paypal for using our services. Join us 'roho safi' and you will not be disappointed. Note that Alma's conclusion about us is based on a wrong assumption. Even better, you may just google about us and am sure you will find reviews on several blogs (some of who are not Pro-ePAY). I can assure you that the only thing you will find is people complaining that we are expensive (I have explained why) and you will not come across anyone doubting our integrity. That is a more objective way of finding out more about us (from users) as opposed to reacting to a post by one misinformed Alma who claims to be an 'authority' on such matters but I highly doubt her competence.

In April last year, Alma posted a very objective comment while reacting to the first post we did announcing ePAY services. I will leave it to readers to make their conclusion. Pay attention to the last sentence.

---

alma #18 Posted : Sunday, April 22, 2012 6:24:14 PM
Rank: Elder


The idea is great. It is helping Kenyans as our banks are still retarded.

But it would be good to warn those using the system that it is against Paypal terms. That can't be swept under the carpet. At anytime, PayPal can close those accounts.

But I still think its a risk worth taking as none of these other companies want to help Kenyans out online.

#Alma, yes indeed I know you now. Thank you for admitting that you once endorsed our services. It would also be nice to state the exact reason you stopped endorsing us because your pivot point seems to be paypal TOS which you were well aware about even before your first endorsement. That would be more useful to readers. Also next time, such disclosures are made before you are reminded, that way people can take you more serious.

My endorsement of you business was based on little information. As they say, once you dig out a few things about someone, you get to know more about them.

1. You accept in public that you are doing something that is not upfront.

2. You then say that the people doing so should know better

3. You are the same people who own http://www.chuchihosting.com/ I'm sure you aren't selling web hosting to anyone on that site. This is what you've used to pretend to paypal that you are a legit business.

4. You are willing to lie to people that their accounts will never be at risk, yet you forget to mention that in your own forum that accounts can be at risk if you involve yourself in companies like yours that don't follow Paypal TOS

Avoid using service providers who subscribe directly to paypal to withdraw money locally. When paypal catches up with such a provider, your account will also be affected. https://epay-kenya.com/forum/index.php?topic=15.0

5. A quick scan of akowally's blog shows out of the numerous so called great paypal withdrawal methods he's used, only payoneer and yours remain. The others have been shut down. Probably after their accounts were limited by paypal and with clients who probably lost their funds.

Fact: Any company that violates Paypal TOS by engaging in business they expressly refuse is bound sooner rather than later to have their accounts limited
Fact: Dealing with your company for any sort of money exchange is against Paypal TOS
Fact: Your so called clients are likely to lose either their funds with you or have the accounts limited

Now those are the facts. As you say, let the people decide. eish.