IM Newsletter Article

Mobile phone subscriptions in Africa are growing at a phenomenal rate of more than twice the global average and faster than any other region in the world since 2003, presenting a massive opportunity for African mobile operators.

However a large percentage of these 412 million subscribers live and work in rural areas which can make the distribution of prepaid airtime with physical vouchers difficult.

Subscribers who are unable to travel to retail outlets currently have limited options when they run out of minutes: they can reduce their use of network services in order to save existing airtime; or simply stop using their phone when their minutes run out. Operators who do not have a way of distributing airtime to these subscribers to meet their usage needs will find themselves losing revenue and subscribers to those who do.

Imagine being able to cut out physical vouchers and distribute prepaid airtime through a network of resellers, using just the handset. With Merchant Manager from Business Logic Systems you can do just that by creating a secure, real-time virtual distribution network!

InTelestage Merchant Manager is an electronic real-time channel management solution that enables the creation and management of a secure virtual distribution network. This enables operators to increase market penetration and airtime usage without the need for physical vouchers or retail point of sale terminals.

Increase market penetration
Merchant Manager offers a secure and flexible method of distributing prepaid credit in areas without physical distribution outlets, all via the handset:

• Create a flexible, cost-efficient virtual distribution network
• Distribute prepaid credit via a multi-tier network of distributors and resellers, via the handset
• Stimulate sales and service usage with distributor and consumer campaigns

Real-time channel management
Merchant Manager allows operators to set-up and manage a multi-tier distribution network of distributors and resellers.

Key features

• Set-up is simple, distributors need only a SIM and a handset to be able to transact
• Operators can define security levels and transfer value parameters and the transparent reporting system provides an overview of network usage
• Air-time transfers are completed in real-time so end-users can make calls immediately
• Credits can be resold at any value making network services affordable for all
• Payments for credits which have been resold are between the reseller and end-user, minimising operator risk
• Operators can run fully automated campaigns to distributors, resellers and consumers to activate the base and stimulate top-ups

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