Telkom & Clickatell to launch mobile messaging payments

National telephone operator Telkom has joined forces with chat commerce and business messaging firm Clickatell to launch its Chat 2 Pay feature.

The feature is for integrated communications company Telkom to unlock the convenience of safe and effortless mobile payments.

Creamer Media posted that the deployed Chat 2 Pay pay-by-link capability in WhatsApp, in response to the growing demand for fast, digital, self-help services, enables Telkom post-paid and prepaid customers.

The report indicates that the application will allow users to easily and safely pay their phone bills and ds/fibre bills, and buy airtime, data, and SMS bundles in WhatsApp.

According to the two companies, Telkom’s current chatbot offers customers mobile support by accessing their accounts and billing information and allows them to view sales deals, among others.

With the addition of Chat 2 Pay, customers will benefit from a convenient and personalised service to pay bills and value-added service (VAS) top-ups through Mastercard and Visa debit and credit cards.

“User behaviour has shifted, and organisations 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,” says Clickatell senior VP enterprise sales and growth markets Werner Lindemann.

“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 telecommunications firms that are looking for new revenue channels and better efficiencies,” concludes Lindemann

On top of that, payments in chat provide telecommunications firms the tools required to assist their customers to complete payments simply and safely in the channel they already know and trust, significantly boosting customer experience and revenue.

The customer then can securely enter payment details and submit, receiving a confirmation of the payment and receipt in a chat message said CMO Gugu Mthembu.

“Telkom continues to look at ways to advance our customers’ digital experiences, and our digital channels are core for future delivery,” said Mthembu.

“Chat 2 Pay helps us optimise our payment channels and payment collection. What’s more, the ease, and availability, of VAS services is expected to further boost revenue opportunities.”