Prepaid wireless services are becoming more popular each year. They give consumers the opportunity to obtain mobile phone services without having to sign a contract or obligate themselves to any long-term commitments. Due to the increasing demand, traditional wireless carriers like AT&T, Virgin and Verizon are now offering prepaid services of their own too.
The biggest challenge for prepaid carriers is customer retention. Whenever a customer’s prepaid service plan is about to expire, they are forced to run to the store and purchase more minutes. That is why so many carriers are searching for a payment platform that allows their customers to renew their service plans and keep their current phone numbers without any hassle.
Since 2011, CellPay has provided alternative payment solutions for carriers offering services in the prepaid wireless industry. They give retail businesses a payment platform that allows customer retention to be fulfilled. Instead of customers being forced to purchase prepaid cards at retail stores, they can refill their minutes by going online, text messaging, calling on the phone, or using a mobile app.
“Currently, Walmart.com, Speedway.com, and many other retailers do not have the ability to sell prepaid wireless top-up on their website; they are currently selling PINS only,” a representative of CellPay stated. “With CellPay’s platform and integration, retailers can have access to directly top-up consumers’ phones. CellPay’s technology allows number validation with the carriers.”
The three reloading features of the CellPay payment platform are Text2Pay, Online, and Voice IVR. Statistics show that carriers and retailers that have elected to use CellPay saw a huge increase in customer retention. While the prepaid industry’s average for customer retention is 5 months, CellPay has allowed prepaid businesses to increase their customer retention to more than 16 months. Approximately 30% of customers who use the CellPay platform have signed up for monthly recurring payments. For the customers who pay as they go, about 10% of them use the Text2Pay feature for making their payments.
In 2016, CellPay only had around 6,500 customers. Now, they have over 500,000 customers and they’re continuing to grow. Recent updates to the CellPay platform have added many new features, including fraud protection, carrier number validation, and back-office management. CellPay is currently working on a program that will allow consumers to use retailers’ current rewards programs to pay for their mobile top-up.
With over 350 operators around the world, CellPay is growing at an accelerated rate as the interest in prepaid phones continues to rise.
