Online businesses have become more common in recent years. This is largely due to the fact that more and more people have become more willing to explore alternative sources of income online, driving the growth of this sector in every niche.
While most online businesses are pretty straightforward and legit, some of them rely on an MLM business model, which places them in a rather gray area. A few multi-level marketing companies have been determined to be scams and Ponzi schemes, but for every one that gets shut down, many more come up to take their place.
While it is possible to make some money with an MLM, and there are some MLMs that have been registered and given business licenses, a lot of them are usually get rich quick schemes that many people fall for and lose a lot of money with.
Recharge and Get Paid is an MLM company that has come up in recent years. This review will take a closer look at what this company is about and whether or not it is worth investing your time, money and effort in.
WHAT IS RECHARGE AND GET PAID?
Recharge and Get Paid is an MLM structured telecommunications company that was established on 11th August 2015. According to their website, the company has its offices in Abuja, Nigeria. It is described as a consistent online marketing website whose goal is to provide financial freedom to all its distributors.
It is not known who the people behind this company are. However, they have a physical address listed on the website, along with a Nigerian phone number.
WHAT PRODUCTS DOES RECHARGE AND GET PAID OFFER?
According to the website, Recharge and Get paid will help you make money by using Virtual Top Up (VTU) technology. You can buy and sell airtime from most of the major service providers in Nigeria, like 9Mobile, Airtel, MTN and Glo. You can also use and send mobile data bundles through any of the networks listed above.
The company also markets an e-wallet which you can also use to pay your power and electricity bill to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PCHN).
Through the e-wallet system, the affiliate, called a distributor, is also given a platform to pay for their cable TV subscriptions.
Of course, these products are just a front for the actual business, which relies on an MLM model. You have to promote these products to people and get them to join the company under you, and they in turn have to convince other people, and so on.
WHAT IS THE COST OF JOINING RECHARGE AND GET PAID?
To become a Recharge and Get Paid distributor, you will have to create an e-wallet account, and you are required to pay a one-time registration fee. There are seven different packages to choose from. However, after registration an affiliate can choose to upgrade their package.
It is important to note that this registration fee only serves the purpose of membership. In order to make purchases, you will have to deposit money into your e-wallet account. Here is a breakdown of the various membership levels:
- Executive Platinum Member: This package calls for a N100,000 registration fee, and earns you commission 10 levels deep from your referrals.
- Platinum Member: To join this package, you will have to part with N50,000. This package also lets you make money up to 10 levels deep of referrals.
- Diamond Member: A diamond package member has to pay N40,000 to register, and they receive commission up to the 9th level deep of their referrals.
- Gold Member: In order to be a part of this package, you need to pay N30,000. The gold package lets you get commission from 8 levels deep of your downlines.
- Silver Member: Joining the Silver membership package asks that the affiliate pay N20,000 and helps you earn commission from up to the 7th level of referrals.
- Bronze Member: Registration to the bronze package of Recharge and Get Paid will cost N10,000 and you will earn up to the 6th level of your downline referrals.
- Basic Member: Finally, this package requires the potential affiliate to pay N5,000 and can only let you earn up to the 5th level of your referrals.
This means as a member, you have to get several referrals under you, who in turn have to get other referrals under them, and so on. The more referrals you have, the more money you stand to make. Notice how this forms a triangle shape.
THE RECHARGE AND GET PAID COMPENSATION PLAN
All your earnings will be credited to the e-wallet account created during registration, which is password secured. You can then transfer your earnings to your bank account from there.
According to the website, the new distributors are placed in a 3*10 forced matrix. This ensures that affiliates receive an income even when they stop working in the company. I tried to understand what they meant by this but couldn’t, so it’s anyone’s guess.
There are various ways that Recharge and Get Paid promises to help you make money:
Registration Bonus
- Instant Registration Bonus: The affiliate receives 20% of their registration fee as soon as their membership is completed regardless of the package they selected.
- Instant Direct Referral Bonus: You will receive 20% of the registration cost of all distributors you referred, regardless of the package they chose.
- Instant Indirect Referral Bonus: You will earn 10% to 1% of the registration cost of all members that were referred by your referrals, down to the 10th level deep, as follows; Level 2 referrals- 10%, Level 3 referrals- 5%, Level 4 referrals-2.5%, Level 5 referrals- 1.25%, and Level 6 to level 10 referrals-1%.
Sales Commissions
Personal use of the products: You are awarded 2% every time you buy airtime and 10% on any amount spent on data bundles. When you subscribe for cable TV you receive a 2% commission and when you pay your electricity bill, you get paid N40.
Distributor Commissions: The company awards you 2% commission of what your clients spend when your sell airtime. When they buy data bundles, you receive 10% of the money they used. You are also paid 2% on any amount paid by your client for cable TV subscriptions and their electricity bill.
Referral Commissions: Anytime anyone from your downline sells airtime or recharges their own airtime, you get a 0.35% commission. When they buy or sell mobile data bundles, you receive a 1% commission. For every cable TV subscription and electricity bill payment made through anyone in your downline level, the company credits you 10 Naira.
Leadership Bonuses
When you register to join Recharge and Get Paid, you instantly start earning Point Values (PV). The PV system is used to measure the performance of each distributor of the organization. Point values serve as an incentive to motivate the distributors to recruit more referrals, since your referrals can earn you PVs.
The point values are also awarded based on the package selected during registration:
- Executive Platinum Package: The company credits you 400 PV when you join with this package, and your downlines make you the same when they opt for this package.
- Platinum Package: This package earns you 200 PV upon registration. Also, anytime a referral signs up to this package, you get the same.
- Diamond Package: When you subscribe to this package and anytime your downlines do, you receive 160 PV.
- Gold Package: Joining Recharge and Get Paid through this package, and anytime your referrals do gets you 120 PV.
- Silver Package: This package helps you get 80 PV and the same if anyone in your downline selects the package.
- Bronze Package: It earns you 40 PV as a subscriber and when your referrals join the organization.
- Basic Package: Lastly, this package gifts you 20 PV and when your downlines select the basic package.
The Point Value system also comes with certain incentives. However, you should note that all of these rewards are perks that come with registration to the Executive Platinum package and the Platinum package plans. Distributors who have the other packages can still earn Point Values but they will not reap the benefits that come with them. The Point Value incentives include:
- Monthly Payment: Any calendar month that you earn a total 10,000 PV, the company rewards you with N100,000
- Trip to Dubai: For 25,000 cumulative PV, the website says that you will receive a fully paid trip to Dubai, or receive a cash equivalent of N500,000.
- Small Car Award: The website claims that a cumulative score of 60,000 PV will get you N2,000,000 or a car worth the same.
- House Fund: When you accrue a cumulative of 100,000 PV, the company awards you a N3,000,000 house fund or the cash equivalent.
- Second House Fund: You qualify for the second house fund when you attain 250,000 cumulative Point Values. When this happens, Recharge and Get Paid will reward you with a N4,000,000 house fund or its cash equivalent.
WILL YOU MAKE ANY MONEY WITH THIS COMPANY?
Recharge and Get Paid is marketed as a legit and straightforward business with a good earning potential. However, that does not change the fact that it is an MLM and a pyramid scheme.
So, will you make money with it? Perhaps. Will you recover your initial investment? Highly unlikely. Companies like these work by convincing people to hand over their money so that a few people at the top can enrich themselves. You can be sure that the reason why the people behind this company are hiding behind anonymity is that they do not want people to know just how rich they have gotten because of everyone else’s hard work, and also perhaps to protect themselves from inevitable litigation.
MLMs work by allowing you to make just enough money to stay onboard, but never enough money to give you true financial freedom, because that will free you and the guys at the top need your money. It is incredibly difficult to climb up the ranks, and in the case of Recharge and Get Paid, you have to literally pay for better membership perks. Any company that asks you to pay them before they can help you make money is only out to get your money. If you are working for them, they are the ones that should be paying you.
All these factors make me believe that this company is very shady and you should therefore not involve yourself with them. It will not be worth it at all. You will only end up losing your precious time and money, so stay away from them.
PROS
- One-time Payment: This particular venture only requires you to pay the registration fee, with no other costs jumping at you later on. However, you will still have to pay to upgrade your membership and access better perks if you choose to do that.
- Detailed Compensation plan: The company has laid out its commissions and bonus payment plan very clearly. As a distributor, you are required to use their products, sell their product and get referrals in order to maximize your earnings. Although this is clearly a lot of work, at least you know what you are getting yourself into from the very beginning.
CONS
- There are better existing solutions to the problems its products promise to solve. Recharge and Get Paid uses Virtual Top Up technology. However, there are other more convenient methods of buying airtime for your phone. It can be difficult to convince people to use this company especially when they already have other more convenient methods in place.
- The company requires large scale recruiting. To increase your commissions and point value earnings, you will have to get a lot of referrals and get them to also find affiliates. You will also need to ensure your referrals are active in the company. Getting referrals is no easy task especially if you don’t have a pre-existing way to attract users.
- Very low earning potential. Unless you join this venture with the more high-end packages, the chances of making a life changing income are low. The company has been deliberately designed this way to force you to purchase higher membership packages.
- There is no income disclosure statement provided. One can only rely on messages posted by the affiliates on social media to get a hint of how much to expect. This information cannot be depended on as there are no credible sources. The company does not have an official statement showing what the current distributors are making, so there is no way to know how much money to expect once you start working with them.
- Unnecessary deductions. The company requires that you pay them 70 Naira every time you make a deposit into your e-wallet account with any bank, whether your deposit was for your wallet funding or activation of a new account.
- Recharge and Get Paid is a fairly new company. As mentioned earlier, the company was founded less than five years ago. Therefore, it is still a bit too soon to determine whether the company is still going to be around in the next decade. Companies like this one have a history of crashing and burning and leaving their members out in the cold within a few years, so this is definitely not reassuring.
WHAT IS BETTER THAN RECHARGE AND GET PAID?
I am a firm believer that affiliate marketing is hands down the best way to make money online. So much so that I myself am an affiliate marketer. I love the freedom and potential it gives me.
As a business model, affiliate marketing is unique because you do not own any products yourself. You do not have to worry about storing or distributing anything. All you have to do is recommend products and services that you believe will help your audience. If they act on your recommendation, you will get a commission.
Recharge and Get Paid does have a form of affiliate marketing in its business model, but it is not done the right way. This model is deliberately restrictive to make sure that you stick with this company and keep making money for the people at the top. It is companies like this that give online marketers a bad name.
If done the correct way, affiliate marketing can give you the financial freedom that you have been dreaming about. There is no cap to how much you can earn. It will not be easy but it is definitely doable with a little specialized knowledge.
If you need a little help with getting your affiliate marketing business off the ground, I highly recommend that you take a look at Wealthy Affiliate.
Wealthy Affiliate is a globally-used website that trains and supports beginner affiliates and seasoned ones alike. This website helps you build a successful affiliate marketing business by teaching you everything you need to know. You will also get all the tools you need to grow, along with a supportive community of over 1 million affiliate marketers from all over the world that will be taking that journey with you.
CHECK OUT WEALTHY AFFILIATE – CLICK HERE NOW!
With over 15 years of experience the site will equip you with all the relevant training you need in order to create, manage and earn from your online marketing venture.
The best part is that you can get started with it today for absolutely free. Wealthy Affiliate has a free plan and a paid plan. The free plan comes with all the features and tools you need to get started with your affiliate marketing business. Signing up for it is the perfect way to find out what Wealthy Affiliate is all about and to figure out whether or not it is something for you at no risk to you.
If you like what you see, you can then upgrade to the paid plan. The paid plan will supercharge your business and help take it to a whole other level. It will help you get to the levels that most people only dream of.
But do not take my word for it. Try Wealthy Affiliate out for yourself today and see how you like it. If you find that it is not the platform for you, you can simply just back out and go on with your life. At least you will have learnt the ins and outs of affiliate marketing for free!
VERDICT
Recharge and Get Paid is an MLM company with a twist on payment of bills and airtime recharging. It is a legit company for all intents and purposes. However, working as an affiliate for this company does not guarantee that you will make a lot of money, or any money at all for that matter.
This is mostly due to the organizational structure of the company. It allows only those with premium packages and those at the top to earn the most money while those at the bottom work the hardest for next to nothing.
This is why I do not recommend this product. There are far better alternatives out there. Top of the list is affiliate marketing, which you should definitely try out with the help of Wealthy Affiliate.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WEALTHY AFFILIATE – CLICK HERE NOW!
Whatever you decide to do, I hope this review has provided you with all the information you need to come to a decision that works for you regarding Recharge and Get Paid.
To your success,
Mike Aha
HELPFUL POSTS YOU MIGHT ENJOY
How To Be A Good Affiliate Marketer
Pitfalls With Affiliate Marketing