Prepay Nation & TelCell Sint Maarten Case Study

  • The digital solution was delivered to TelCell at ZERO CAPEX.
  • The website went live in under 6 weeks.
  • PPN assumes all risks related to fraud and chargebacks.
  • PPN provides 365x24x7 customer support

SITUATION

Mobile carrier TelCell N.V. part of the TelEm Group of Companies was established in October 1998 as a telecommunication company serving business and residential clients on the Dutch side of Saint Maarten. TelCell offers GSM and GPRS services island wide. The company’s services have been pioneering in all respects, being the first to bring digital telephony, SMS services, roaming services, and mobile wi-fi and prepaid mobile services to subscribers in Saint Maarten and the neighboring islands of Saba and St. Eustatius. After Hurricane Irma, customers wishing to replenish their prepaid-mobile accounts had to solely physically visit one of the authorized
vendors or an ATM machine on the island to purchase prepaid airtime and recharge their account.

SOLUTION: Prepay Nation (PPN)

TelCell has since partnered with Prepay Nation to offer an innovative, secure, and easy to use Digital solution for its subscribers to top-up their accounts from the convenience of their own homes or on the go. Now, the local Yachting community and the International Diaspora also have more choices than ever to stay connected and recharge their TelCell mobile accounts or their friends and families’ accounts anytime, from anywhere Digitally.
This latest digital top-up and recharge solution is a growing trend among Mobile Network Operators globally as they race to cater to the increased demand by subscribers for more choice and control over when and how they manage their prepaid mobile accounts. Prepay Nation is uniquely positioned to adopt the latest technologies through its digital transformation capabilities. By utilizing its robust Value Top-Up Marketplace and Technology Hub, Prepay Nation (PPN) designed and built a bespoke website for TelCell subscribers, complemented by native downloadable apps for iPhone iOS and Android. Now, TelCell subscribers, their friends, families, and the international Diaspora have the choice and peace of mind of topping-up and recharging any TelCell mobile account from around the corner or around the world, in person, online, or in-app. TelEm Group Business Development Officer, Ms. Estalita Gumbs, stated that the method of topping-up online and the introduction of the new TelCell branded apps and digital channels by Prepay Nation will greatly enhance prepaid mobile sales for TelCell.
“With TelEm Group’s continued focus on digital solutions for customers, especially in the area of online payments, account checking, and prepaid mobile top-ups, we are making the processes much more convenient for customers to conduct their business online,” said Ms. Gumbs.
The partnership with PPN is part of a revenue-sharing arrangement with TelCell, where PPN provides the digital top-up solution and TelCell the platform and network necessary to deliver the product to customers.
“We were impressed with the commercial model provided by PPN where they invested in building the website and mobile apps, thus freeing TelCell from any capital expenditure, and the API integration and implementation process carried out by PPN, were much swifter and smoother than normal for similar projects”, continued Ms. Gumbs. “The portal and apps are TelCell branded, that is what customers see when they visit this website or download the apps. We want our customers to feel confident and secure when they are using these new digital channels” explained Ms. Gumbs. Prepay Nation provides multiple levels of embedded security to safeguard against fraud and chargebacks.

OUTCOME

Since implementing the Prepay Nation digital solution, TelCell subscribers, their friends, families, and the international Diaspora have the choice and peace of mind of topping-up and recharging any TelCell mobile account from around the corner or around the world, in person, online, or via an app, anytime and from anywhere.
For TelCell, this has increased their customer satisfaction and loyalty. TelCell has also seen an overall increase in revenue because in general, the average spend of online customers tends to be much higher than at retail. TelCell customers can look forward to more digital offerings in the future.
The new Top-Up payment system has also caught the attention of tech-savvy TelEm Group CEO, Mr. Kendall Dupersoy, not only because of an overwhelming show of interest from customers but also from his own personal experience in testing out the app and using it regularly. “I find the online top-up portal as well as the mobile apps to be very easy to use. I use them every week to top-up friends and family. Our customers now have an easy and convenient method of recharging their accounts and we have been able to successfully add digital channels for distribution of airtime.”, said the TelEm Group CEO.

COVID-19 impact

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, in early 2020 businesses and customers alike have had to adapt to the dramatic changes in how they conduct their everyday business.
People were restricted in their movements and limited to essential food shopping only. This situation made it extremely difficult for subscribers to visit retail locations for top-ups, especially at a time when everyone was consuming so much more airtime and data due to working from home, schooling from home, telemedicine, and increased social interaction via wireless channels due to social distancing. It further reinforced the need for mobile operators to expand more of their services to digital channels.
During the height of the lockdown, TelCell’s customers were able to replenish their top-up accounts digitally via the website and apps because of Prepay Nation’s Digital Solution.

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