Telkom customers can now easily and safely pay their phone bills, recharge and buy new service bundles directly in WhatsApp. South Africa's largest integrated telecom company has partnered with Clickatell to launch the Chat 2 Pay feature for its millions of users. With this partnership, Telkom customers can now make Mobile Messaging Payments.
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Currently, Telkom has enabled a chatbot that offers mobile support by accessing customers' accounts and billing information, plus allows customers to view deals, check for mobile or fibre upgrades, make cancellations, make directory inquiries and more. Now, with the addition of the Chat 2 Pay service, Telkom customers can pay bills and VAS top-ups via Mastercard, Visa debit and credit cards.
According to the statement, Telkom now deploys Chat 2 Pay pay-by-link capability in WhatsApp, providing customers with the convenience of safe and effortless mobile payments. Telkom post-paid and prepaid customers can pay their phone and xDSL/fibre bills and buy airtime, data and SMS bundles by simply sending 'Hi' on WhatsApp to 0811 601 700.
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Clickatell's Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales, Growth Markets, Werner Lindemann, said: "User behaviour has shifted, and organizations are relying more and more on digital channels for revenue generation. But, asking customers to make payments through a different channel creates a break in the customer journey and challenges companies to convert sales. Payments in chat give telcos the tools they need to help their customers complete payments simply and safely in the channel they already know and trust, significantly boosting customer experience and revenue."
Gugu Mthembu, CMO at Telkom, said: "Telkom continues to look at ways to advance our customers’ digital experiences, and our digital channels are core for future delivery. Chat 2 Pay helps us optimize our payment channels and payment collection. What's more, the ease of and availability of VAS services is expected to further boost revenue opportunities."
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"With 93% of conversations transpiring on Clickatell's Chat Commerce Platform and ending in a transaction, Chat Commerce, including Chat 2 Pay, is especially relevant for telcos that are looking for new revenue channels and better efficiencies. Chat Commerce doesn't just respond to your customers' needs, it fulfils many of your shareholders' needs too," Lindemann added.
With the introduction of the Click 2 Pay Service, Millions of Telkom customers can now make payments in WhatsApp.
