US-based chat commerce company Clickatell has partnered with South Africa-based integrated communication company Telkom to enable mobile messaging payments via WhatsApp . Based on the information detailed in the press release, Clickatell provided its Chat 2 Pay feature to Telkom enabling the latter’s customers to pay their phone bills, recharge, and buy new service bundles in WhatsApp in an easy and safe manner.

Collaboration context and what it entails for mobile messaging payments Telkom’s deployment to its customers of the Chat 2 Pay pay-by-link capability in WhatsApp aims to be a response to the increasing demand towards fast, digital, self-help services, aiming to provide them with the safety and simplicity associated with mobile payments. Both post-paid and prepaid Telkom customers are enabled to pay their phone and xDSL/fibre bills, as well as buy airtime, data, and SMS bundles by texting ‘Hi’ on WhatsApp to +27 81 160 1700. As of now, Telkom’s chatbot provides customers with mobile support by accessing their accounts and billing information, as well as enabling them to view sales deals, check for both mobile or fibre upgrades, do cancellations, and make directory inquiries, amongst others.

Following the addition of the Chat 2 Pay service, customers can leverage a convenient and personalised service to carry out bill payments and VAS top-ups through both Mastercard and Visa debit and credit cards. Commenting on the announcement, Werner Lindemann, Clickatell’s Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales, Growth Markets stated that as user behaviour has shifted, organisations are increasingly relying on digital channels for revenue generation. However, asking customers to make payments using a different channel could create a break within the customer journey and present challenges to companies in converting sales.

In-chat payments provide telcos with the necessary tools for assisting their customers to complete payments in a simple and safe manner within the channel they already know and trust, which helps increase customer experience and revenue alike. Chat 2 Pay helps simplify the payment process, enabling Telkom customers to carry out transactions by making a menu selection that triggers a payment request. Once done, the customer is sent a link via a WhatsApp message that once clicked on, provides access to a fully hosted checkout page.

The customer is then enabled to enter payment details securely and submit the request, with the confirmation of the payment and receipt set to be received in a chat message. Gugu Mthembu, CMO at Telkom stated that the company is looking at methods for advancing its customers’ digital experiences, and its digital channels are believed to be core for future delivery. As per their statement, Chat 2 Pay assists with the optimisation of Telkom’s payment channels and payment collection, and the simplicity and availability of VAS services are expected to help increase revenue opportunities.

Clickatell officials added that as 93% of conversations emerging on its Chat Commerce platform end in a transaction, Chat Commerce, together with Chat 2 Pay, is believed to be relevant for telcos looking for new revenue channels and improved efficiency especially. .