Telkom announced on Thursday that it has successfully signed-up 10 000 subscribers to its digital wallet operated on WhatsApp – Telkom Pay. The digital wallet was launched in December 2020 and Telkom says it has big plans to cement its place in the FinTech market.
Telkom’s digital wallet made the first-of-its-kind debut in the market by allowing customers to easily make transactions, without the use of cash and the need for face-to-face interaction, all through WhatsApp.
The company has since made advancements to its offering and one of the stand-out features include a Telkom Pay Virtual Card.
Telkom Pay now also features Telkom’s personalised voice and data mobile deals platform, Mo’Nice, in addition to full access to its prepaid offering of voice and data plans instead of only a handful of bundles that were available at the start.
“Our digital wallet has been received well by our customers and we’ve had positive feedback from them so far,” Sibusiso Ngwenya, Managing Executive: Telkom Financial Services.
“The team has spent the past 6 months since we went live to evaluate the feedback in order to not only strengthen the functionalities that customers love, such as buying prepaid electricity through the platform for example, but also to develop products, features and benefits that enhance our value proposition to ensure that we please and delight our subscribers.”
Telkom Pay now allows customers to purchase the gaming, gifting, streaming and transport vouchers with the following providers’ Lords Mobile, Roblox, Deezer, Showmax, Netflix, Netflorist, Makro and many others.
“We are thrilled with our progress and for us, the success of the pilot programme, which we benchmarked by exceeding our target within 6 months, is the nod we needed to move forward,” said Ngwenya.
“There are a few more exciting partnerships and additions that we will announce soon that we believe we put us in good stead to be positioned as a solid player in the fintech space in the near future.”
“Inclusion isn’t a buzzword for us; we know our customer well and the needs they have. That is why a bank account isn’t a requirement to send or access funds through Telkom Pay, for example.”
Telkom Pay future plans
Ngwenya said Telkom has concluded heads of agreement with the low-cost investment platform, EasyEquities, through which the company will be launching investment services with Telkom Pay to deliver an ecosystem of investment services to customers.
Customers wishing to use Telkom Pay need to message “Hi” to the digital wallet WhatsApp number: 0684 83 5566 and the services may be accessed through the USSD *120*2234#. When referring a friend and family to Telkom Pay, subscribers receive R5 for a sign-up on the digital wallet and R10 for both the wallet and virtual card.