Nokia has won a deal to supply Thai mobile operator DTAC with the Nokia Connect eRefill, an innovative solution for electronic top-ups of prepaid accounts. With Nokia Connect eRefill, DTAC prepaid subscribers can conveniently recharge their accounts by buying small, affordable amounts of airtime from a host of resellers.
In addition to the Nokia Connect eRefill, Nokia is providing system integration and care services. The solution is operational, and DTAC has started offering the service under the name 'Happy Online'.
The Nokia Connect eRefill is ideal for the Thai market, where more than 80% of subscribers are prepaid. The solution also enables DTAC to support a large number of resellers, since resellers require only a mobile phone to perform the transaction. Alternatively, resellers can also use a Web interface. DTAC will also be able to reduce costs by avoiding physical methods of account recharging, such as scratch cards or vouchers.
"Prepaid has been a growing segment among DTAC subscribers during the past few years," said Thana Thienachariya, Chief Commercial Officer, DTAC. "We are looking to extend our offering and attract new customers by introducing service differentiation and innovation into the prepaid Thai Market. With the e-refill solution provided by Nokia, we have a cost-effective way to do this."
"We are very impressed with the benefits of the Nokia Connect eRefill," said Chaiyod Chirabowornkul, Unit Head - Commercial Development Unit, DTAC. "We expect it to significantly lower the barriers to recharging prepaid accounts by allowing us to greatly expand our network of resellers and by allowing our customers to buy airtime in very small amounts. It's a very practical solution."
"Nokia sees e-refill as a key enabler for DTAC to serve its prepaid subscriber base," said Suwit Pruckwattanaon, Account Director for DTAC, Networks, Nokia, Thailand. "Nokia Connect eRefill makes micro-value top-ups possible, increasing affordability and encouraging greater mobile usage among lower-spending subscribers, and providing important new business growth for DTAC. With Nokia Connect eRefill, both DTAC and its subscribers come out ahead."
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Notes to the Editor:
At present most operators consider it impractical to sell prepaid airtime top ups in very small amounts because of the cost per transaction when vouchers or scratch cards are used. Electronic refill eliminates many of the fixed costs associated with traditional voucher-based solution, making electronic refill the most cost-effective and flexible solution for providing small-denomination airtime top ups.
With Nokia Connect eRefill, prepaid subscribers pay a reseller for the desired amount of airtime. The airtime reseller then sends a payment request message to the prepaid system by text message or by the Web. The subscriber's account is credited automatically, and the reseller's account is also debited accordingly. Both parties are notified about the success of the transaction, and the subscriber receives a text message showing the latest account balance.