Chat Commerce and business messaging leader Clickatell has launched a Chat 2 Pay feature for South Africa’s largest integrated communications company, Telkom. The feature would allow users of the telco service to generate and make payments on WhatsApp.
In a statement seen by Technext, Telkom disclosed that the company had made this provision In response to the growing demand for swift, digital, self-help services. Users are encouraged to use the Chat 2 Pay pay-by-link in WhatsApp, providing practical, safe, and effortless mobile payments.
By simply sending “Hi” on WhatsApp to 0811601700, post-paid and prepaid customers can buy airtime, data & SMS bundles, and xDSL/fibre bills.
An improvement to Telkom’s chatbot
Before now, Telkom’s chatbot offers customers mobile support by accessing their accounts and billing information. In addition, sales deals are made accessible for views and other things like mobile or fibre upgrades, cancellations, directory inquiries and more.
The addition of the Chat 2 Pay feature will allow customers to stand a chance to benefit from a convenient and personalized service for bill payments and VAS top-ups using regular debit and credit cards produced by card providers like Mastercard and Visa.
“User behavior 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,” said Werner Lindemann, Clickatell’s Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales, Growth Markets.
“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.”
How to use Telkom’s chat 2 pay feature on WhatsApp
Telkom users can transact by initiating a menu selection to generate a payment request, after which a link is sent to the user as a WhatsApp message. However, a hosted checkout page is made accessible once the link is clicked.
The user can then securely input payment details for submission, and this process is followed by confirmation and receipt of the chat message.
“Telkom continues to look at ways to advance our customers’ digital experiences, and our digital channels are core for future delivery,” said Gugu Mthembu, CMO at Telkom.
“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.”
“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,” said Lindemann.
Read More; South African telecom provider Telkom removes Netflix from its video service
Technext Newsletter
Get the best of Africa’s daily tech to your inbox – first thing every morning.
Join the community now!
