PAYMENTS & TELECOMS
“ Digital is the next frontier . That is unquestionable and inevitable ”
OLA PERSSON HEAD OF MOBILE FINANCIAL SERVICES , ERICSSON
He notes : “ Digital payments help telecom companies meet customers where they are – through their mobile phones – giving them the power to make payments , local transfers , international transfers , give gifts , and more – all while removing the need for a physical card that can be easily lost , or involve a tedious in-person trip .”
It is not just convenience , either , helping telecom companies expand their customer bases through payments . “ Financial inclusion is another critical element of digital payments that keeps customers sticky ,” adds Persson .
“ Approximately 1.4bn people worldwide are unbanked , many of which live in developing countries . However , many of these people do have access to a mobile phone , which is all they need to harness digital payments and gain access to critical , everyday financial services .
“ These elements – convenience and inclusion – are what have made the difference for mobile financial services and allowed their popularity to grow so meteorically across the globe .
“ And as telecom companies continue to invest in more layers to the mobile money service mix , like personalisation , it ’ s clear that customer engagement will continue to increase as well .”
What is also true is that customer engagement is heightened by a stronger customer journey , and digital payments provide this type of journey for telecom companies .
In fact , even in EMEs , “ consumers have come to expect end-to-end experiences , which is drawing telecom companies towards offering embedded financial services like digital wallets ”, says Belda .
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