DuePoint Review: Financial insurance & eCommerce subscriptions
DuePoint operate in the financial services MLM niche and are based out of Gauteng, South Africa.
DuePoint list five “team members” on their website, however their specific roles within the company are no defined.
Brendan Benfield, Timothy Renolds, Rob Van Der Bijl, Stacey Paul and Jayne Verity are credited with backgrounds in finance and tech.
Jayne Verity is the DuePoint team member credited with MLM experience;
Having developed direct marketing teams both in the UK and in South Africa, she adds extensive knowledge and experience to DuePoint.
Perusal of Verity’s Twitter profile reveals marketing material for The Worlds Biggest Buying Club (2011, now defunct). Other than attendance at a DSA South Africa event in 2015, I was unable to confirm Verity’s MLM credentials.
Read on for a full review of the DuePoint MLM opportunity.
DuePoint Products
On their website DuePoint claim to be
a division of Constantia Insurance Company Limited, which is a registered Financial Services Provider FSP 31111.
At the time of publication the Constantia website was down. From what I gather though it’s an independent financial advice company based out of South Africa.
Constantia products featured on the DuePoint website include:
- Access Wealth – R100 ZAR a month tax-free investment account and personal accident policy for R299 ZAR ($22.50 USD)
- Wealth Guard – R1.1 million ZAR ($82,898 USD) personal accident cover for R274 ZAR ($20.65 USD)
Wealth Points is a R274 ZAR ($20.65 USD) membership subscription service that provides access to various third-party “buyers’ club partners”.
These partners include voucher providers, an ISP, car dealership, travel agency, home appliance retailer, eCommerce platforms, hair dryer retailer, hair salon and personal fitness trainer.
Although not explicitly clarified on the DuePoint website, I believe each subscription is monthly recurring.
The DuePoint Compensation Plan
When a DuePoint affiliate sells a subscription to a retail customer or recruited affiliate, a R27.50 ZAR commission is generated ($2.05 USD).
This commission is monthly recurring for the life of the subscription.
To qualify for commissions a DuePoint affiliate must sell at least one subscription to three recruited affiliates.
Despite a R27.50 ZAR commission generated on each subscription sale, how much a DuePoint affiliate actually receives is determined by a unilevel compensation structure.
A unilevel compensation structure places an affiliate at the top of a unilevel team, with every personally recruited affiliate placed directly under them (level 1):
If any level 1 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 2 of the original affiliate’s unilevel team.
If any level 2 affiliates recruit new affiliates, they are placed on level 3 and so on and so forth down a theoretical infinite number of levels.
The amount of unilevel levels a DuePoint affiliate can earn on is based on how many affiliates they’ve personally recruited.
One recruited affiliate unlocks the first level of the unilevel team, two recruited affiliates unlocks the second level of the unilevel team and so on and so forth.
Subscriptions sold on each level of the unilevel team generate a percentage multiplier, which is used to calculate specific commission rates for a subscription payment on that particular level.
- level 1 (personally recruited affiliates) – 200% multiplier (27.50*2) resulting in a R55 ZAR commission ($4.15 USD)
- level 2 – 200% multiplier resulting in a R55 ZAR commission ($4.15 USD)
- level 3 – 100% multiplier resulting in a R27.50 ZAR commission ($2.05 USD)
- level 4 – 80% multiplier resulting in a R22 ZAR commission ($1.65 USD)
- level 5 – 40% multiplier resulting in a R11 ZAR commission (80 cents USD)
- level 6 – 20% multiplier resulting in a R5.50 ZAR commission (40 cents USD)
- level 7 – 8% multiplier resulting in a R2.20 ZAR commission (17 cents USD)
- level 8 and deeper – 4% multiplier resulting in a R1.10 ZAR commission (8 cents USD)
XP Rewards
According to a corporate presentation video, DuePoint rewards affiliates who follow a preset career path with XP Rewards.
We believe (the plan) will form the foundation of the duplication and expansion of your channel (downline).
XP Rewards include “holidays, cars, prizes, cash and even tools that will further the development of your channel (downline)”.
XP Rewards are based on points, however DuePoint do not make public the specifics of how points are awarded or for what.
Joining DuePoint
DuePoint affiliate membership is tied to the purchase of one or more subscriptions.
This pegs DuePoint affiliate membership costs between R274 to R847 ZAR a month ($20.65 to $63.80 USD).
Conclusion
Despite its affiliates being paid to sell Constantia Insurance Company Limited and Buyer’s Club subscriptions, the company insists it’s affiliates don’t sell.
As Wealth Engineers of DuePoint you are not involved in the sale of our products and you are not a financial advisor or intermediary for DuePoint.
Your only focus is the development of your channel and the pursuit of your own financial freedom.
DuePoint refer to an affiliate downline as a “channel”, which is obviously built by recruiting affiliates and them purchasing subscriptions.
Building an income with DuePoint is simple but far reaching. As you share the DuePoint system with your peers, colleagues, family and friends you commence the construction of your very own channel.
This occurs through sales, so why DuePoint insist otherwise is a mystery. If not sales, what on Earth are they paying their affiliates for?
The investment aspect of the Access Wealth subscription would appear to be regulated through Constantia Insurance’s Financial Services Provider license, however I’m giving DuePoint the benefit of the doubt here.
Regarding the DuePoint compensation plan, the way it’s presented with different percentage multipliers sounds new, however with a fixed rate per subscription sale could just as easily be presented with actual numbers on each level.
The legitimacy of the plan meanwhile rests on how many DuePoint subscriptions are sold to retail customers.
The eighteen minute official DuePoint presentation I based much of this review on does not mention retail subscription sales once.
The focus is entirely on affiliate recruitment, which DuePoint refers to as a “channel building excercise”.
Throughout the presentation the company is quite blatant about how DuePoint should be marketed;
For the purposes of calculating your returns, these 3 product owners must be linked to you directly as a result of you having approached them in terms of the DuePoint business opportunity.
Putting aside the issue of DuePoint referring to commissions as “returns”, it’s quite clear it expects its affiliates to market the “business opportunity” and not the subscription services.
In this sense the company is correct that DuePoint (apparently) does not involve sales. At least not of a tangible product or service to retail customers.
This potentially puts DuePoint in pyramid scheme territory, if the majority of subscriptions are held by affiliates and not retail customers.
You can verify this with your potential upline, by enquiring how many non-affiliate subscription sales they’ve sold versus affiliate subscriptions.
Approach with caution.
Sounds like more MLM doublespeak… it’s not sales, it’s “influencing”. It’s not downline, it’s “channel”.
I am part of Duepoint since it launched and I believe that it is the best opportuity in the world.
Your review is totally out of context and your “facts” are totally wrong.
I suggest that you rather talk with the people who are using this super system and verify the facts with them insted of drawing you own wrong conclusions.
Duepoint has paid every single sent to us as per their marketing plan and has paid all the i centivrs they have promised.
It is not a traditional network marketing concept but something unique and it works!
Facts are facts irrespective of context. And if there were any errors you’d have pointed them out.
You mean promoters such as yourself. And why? Does DuePoint misrepresent itself in it’s marketing material?
And? An MLM company adhering to it’s comp plan isn’t a selling point, it’s a basic expectation.
I am a Wealth Engineer with DuePoint. DuePoint is a marketing division (since 2016) of Constantia.
First of all we are not affiliates & we don’t sell “subscriptions”. We introduce a intergenerational, recurring income system or tool by using technology & there by connecting individuals to the company.
The company alone is responsible for sales & we, as Wealth Engineers, are paid from the company’s revenue.
This is an opportunity for South Africans from a South African company, Listed on the JSE & Nasdac, licensed (9 licences), registerd & regulated yearly. It’s not MLM or network marketing as you don’t sell anything (Brendan & Rob does that as licensed FSP providers), you don’t have to buy stock or kits & you can start with one finacial product for yourself which is an asset for yourself.
And why would a Non-South African be interested in reviewing something that is only for South Africans?
You want to give yourself a fancy sounding title, cool.
DuePoint is still an MLM company and you’re an affiliate.
Also if you’re not “responsible for sales”, you’re getting paid to recruit. This would make DuePoint a pyramid scheme, as detailed in the review.
DuePoint have introduced a working economic solution to South Africans, and has brought hope in our hopeless economy.
So why not introdyce something better to the market if the DuePoint System is so flawed?
Why not report DuePoint to the authorities if they are a pyramid scheme? Because pyramid schemes are outlawed, right?
Why has the Reserve Bank not shut down the DuePoint System like they did with the other pyramid schemes?
So, instead of using your “red pen” to try and correct things that need no correction, put something on the table that’ll put money into the hands of families and breadwinners.
The DuePoint System is a proven, tested and robust wealth creation System and economic solution in our country right now. They have paid every single Wealth Engineer who meets the System criteria, since inception.
DuePoint rocks!
We seem to hear this song and dance about every South African Ponzi scheme.
The only thing DuePoint has brought to South Africa is a scam, provided the majority of company-wide revenue is affiliate spend.
Literally any other way of making money that isn’t financial fraud.
You’d have to ask the Reserve Bank that.
How about you realize the world doesn’t owe you anything. Christ, nothing worse than entitled adult children.
I think your review is very accurate apart from the ponzi part, haha.
Yes they are ‘selling’ but the reason they change the terminology is that a sales person of financial products in SA needs to have a license… hence your reserve bank comment…
So they ride the middle ground between referring a product as the basis of the business opportunity, and a presenter who sells and closes the deal as the registered financial advisor, thereby earning a ‘referral fee’ for bringing the client and getting the advisor to sell the product to them.
so they do have a product, business opportunity,MLM or network marketing, (call it what ever) and a compensation plan and that’s why it not shut down and is legitimate…
not all the other factless reasons 😉
The review doesn’t claim DuePoint is a Ponzi scheme. It’s a pyramid scheme.
Stop making excuses for scams.
Not being shut down by authorities, especially South African authorities, does not equate to legitimacy. DuePoint’s business model is tied to recruitment, making it fraudulent.
A product that is the basis for a business opportunity is the very definition of a product-based pyramid scheme. It is what it is.
Arguments about having products and paying commissions are meaningless diversions in this context. Ask Advocare and Vemma how well having products and paying commissions worked out for them.
By that definition every business is a pyramid scheme, 1 ceo 10 directors 100 managers 1000 employees 10000 customers, also pyramid scheme.
The employees on the bottom do most of the hard work and the ceo just enjoys the profit.
Chris You have described a pyramid structure, rather than a pyramid scheme, and yes most successful legal businesses have that sort of structure.
I checked Advocare and I’m trying to understand, the similarly you point to, if I only purchase well priced products from R249/m and don’t pay any joining fee, I’m not forced to buy R1000s in product and the earnings are not exaggerated then I don’t know…
It is a referral fee not selling or commission, see fsca.co.za Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA).
1990s scam excuses aside, DuePoint likely operates as a pyramid scheme because it doesn’t appear to be retail viable.
That would mean the majority of subscriptions are purchased from affiliates.
Literally nothing to do with the cliche you posted. And seeing as you’re posting strawman cliches instead of addressing it, likely confirmation that the majority of DuePoint subscriptions are indeed held by affiliates.
I was correcting the selling or commission question, with the facts from the FSCA which is the South African regulatory Authority.
I have included the website so you can check it out yourself.
So maybe you may want to update your review in line with the facts…
I searched to many websites trying to find a definitive answer to what is a Pyramid Scheme and its not as clear as I thought… (Ozedit: snip, see below)
The FSCA regulate securities. DuePoint’s MLM comp plan doesn’t have a securities component.
Non-securities related pyramid schemes are regulated in South Africa by the NCC.
No, it is.
If an MLM company has little to no retail sales it’s a pyramid scheme.
If an MLM company primarily generates revenue from affiliates/distributors it’s a pyramid scheme.
Latest FTC guidance to MLM industry emphasizes retail sales
FTC: MLM companies with little to no retail activity are illegal
Simple.
If you want to preach to me about pyramid schemes you better know what you’re talking about. You clearly don’t so sit down, be humble.
Chris, the shape of an organizational chart does not define a pyramid scheme, the flow of money does.
If the majority of a company’s products are purchased and consumed by members of the sales force, that’s a pyramid scheme.
General Motors sells (among other things) cars. They hire and pay employees to make and sell cars. Some of those employees may buy GM cars, but they are not required to buy $200 per month in GM products to qualify for a paycheck, and the vast majority of GM’s sales are to non-employees.
GM’s CEO may earn more than the lower-level employees, but even those at the bottom earn a living. In a pyramid scheme, those at the bottom never earn a cent and in fact lose money paying into the scheme.
Furthermore, since there is no retail market for the products, the only way they can earn money is by roping someone else into the scheme so that their recruits are the ones losing money. That’s why they’re illegal.
The “pyramid schemes don’t have products” and “every organization is a pyramid” arguments have been around for decades. They have zero validity, but keep getting trotted out by the ignorant and by the scammers.
They’re called “strawman” arguments because they’re so weak and easily refuted, like a man made of straw cannot stand up against a human opponent.
@Amos_N_Andy: A strawman argument is a weak argument that you put into the mouth of your opponent so you can knock it down, instead of trying to counter their actual argument. It is generally considered a logical fallacy.
(Although there’s a fine line between an analogy, i.e. restating your opponent’s argument in a way that makes its absurdity clearer, and a strawman, i.e. claiming that your opponent’s argument is something completely different.)
A weak argument that someone puts into their own mouth because they’re a moron is not a strawman. The technical debating term for this is “being a moron”.
An example of a strawman argument would be “Oz is saying that any company where the top earners earn many times more than the vast majority of employees is a pyramid scheme. But every big company in America works that way.”
“Everything is pyramid…” Yawn.
You stumble on the first page of the MLM/pyramid/Ponzi/brain wash playbook. A stupid scam excuse Nr. 1 (or 2?).
Let us know as soon as you get the bigger picture and the real understanding of the “business”.
You failed. Definitions may vary in wording, but the meaning is always the same:
Any system with the rewards at least partially derived/originated from the amount of a deposit/investment/purchase of directly and/or indirectly recruited members is a pyramid scheme.
If a substantial part of the rewards is derived/originated from the pool of other members (you need not to recruit) – it is a Ponzi scheme.
Let’s say pyramid scheme is a special case of Ponzi scheme. Both pyramid and Ponzi schemes are scams.
Some scams have both pyramid and either Ponzi component.
P.S. Have you ever heard about conventional business, where the last employee/worker had to “invest” or “put money in” in order to be on payroll?
Have you ever heard about conventional business screaming “we are not pyramid scheme!” or in need to discuss if it is pyramid scheme or not?
You recruit = you are in pyramid
You put (invest) money in business without known added value = you are in Ponzi
About us FSCA.co.za (Ozedit: derail copypasta removed)
The FSCA regulates pyramid schemes when there’s a securities component, same as the SEC.
DuePoint doesn’t have a securities component.
Regular pyramid schemes in South Africa are regulated by the NCC. I’m not going to state this again.
Oh no by that definition, when my retail selling Insurance broker recruited me to refer my friends and I earned a referral fee, did he create a pyramid scheme.
Unless your broker is running an MLM company I have no idea and don’t care.
If you’re finished trying to defend DuePoint operating as a pyramid scheme we’re done here.
I get it, you said:
You recruit = you are in pyramid
So every MLM is a pyramid scheme
Nope.
MLM + little to no retail = pyramid scheme.
@Chris,
You: 1. have a reading comprehension problem, 2. you think you are being cute by playing dumb, or 3. you really are this stupid.
Just admit it, you are a Ponzi pimp. You have tried using every lame excuse in the book for not admitting this is a Ponzi with your posts here.
Save it for the gullible. Those of us here who have an IQ above 70 know this is a Ponzi.
Good grief, my 14-year old godson knows this is a Ponzi. Doesn’t say much for your financial/investment knowledge does it.
DuePoint is likely operating as a pyramid scheme.
Good day, please let me share the following directly from the DSA’s website which is one of DuePoint’s regulators. (Ozedit: snip, see below)
I trust that the above information will clear up any misunderstanding surrounding DuePoint.
If you still have a problem with Duepoint’s structure, please follow it up with the FSCA and the DSA. Maybe you can be of great help to them.
In the meantime, I fully trust them. They make the law. They declare that Duepoint is a legitimate organization.
1. The DSA isn’t a regulator. What they do or don’t have on their website is irrelevant.
2. The FSCA, like any other financial regulator, does not give approval to MLM companies.
Geez if you have to make up shit to cover the fact you’re not making any retail subscription sales, you’ve already lost.
As Oz said, the DSA (Direct Sales Association) is not a regulator, nor do they make laws. They are a lobbying organization, who petition the American Congress (actual authors of laws) on behalf of MLM businesses.
Whenever Congress makes a move toward stricter regulations that affect MLM companies, the DSA’s lawyers swoop in to convince Congress to water it down or add text that excludes MLMs altogether.
Membership in the DSA is meaningless. Advocare, Vemma, and Herbalife were all members in good standing when the FTC took action against all three for being pyramid schemes.
The DSA pretend MLM is direct sales (note their name), and they pretend to police their members. Neither is true.
Dear oz, your website provides a service to the public. I am not a person who imposes my views on others and believes in exposing more information so that individuals can verify it themselves and help them to make an informed decision.
I noticed that my previous article was not posted, maybe it’s due to limited space. (Ozedit: snip, see below.)
No, it’s because it had nothing to do with DuePoint.
If you want to link spam do it somewhere else.
Search constatiagroup look for duepoint in the drop down menu
Just checking in again, to see if you had a chance to get onto Constantia website?
constantiagroup.co.za/duepoint/
Thanks
Can confirm Constantia Group’s website is up at the time of this comment.
If Duepoint is a division of Constantia could that constitute a viable retail component
No, no it wouldn’t. Legitimacy via association isn’t a thing.
What Constantia does or doesn’t market has nothing to do with DuePoint.
DuePoint is a self-contained MLM opportunity with no retail component.
MLM + no retail = pyramid scheme.