For telecom operators, managing the churn and improving customer loyalty are some of the biggest challenges today. Offering customers the convenience of anytime, anywhere bill payment can help in tackling some weighty issues. Airtel identified the mobile commerce platform to offer convenience in bill payment to its customers, which, in turn, would help improve customer satisfaction.

Since the formal launch of its mobile bill payment service for its post-paid customers, in September 2007, the company has witnessed repeat usage, indicating improved customer retention levels.

As of January 2008, Airtel has 60,000 customers transacting on mChek, with the transaction value of Rs 100 mn. Out of these 60,000 customers, 90% have consistently seen repeated usage.

According to V Venkatesh, CEO, Mobile Services, Bharti Airtel, Karnataka, There are two things that we need to provide to customerspeace of mind and ease of transaction. The more these services move into that realm, the greater will be the customer loyalty.

Airtel allowed its customers to pay the bill through various modesdropping a cheque, going to Airtel centers and paying by cash, card, etc, or going to the companys website and paying online. However, these modes of payment did not allow the much needed anytime, anywhere bill payment facility to the customer. Customers still had to go to a particular location to pay the bills. According to Venkatesh, With our online payment service, the customer doesnt need to stand in the queue. However, we wanted to take this a step ahead, and allow our customers to pay their bills on the go.

Airtel found that the mobile phone is one thing that customers carry, most certainly, all the time. Therefore, the company decided to leverage the mobile platform to offer the envisaged convenience levels to its customers.

In September 2007, the company launched the mobile bill payment service for its post-paid customers with the help of mChek, a Bangalore-based mobile payment company. Currently, the service has support across all the circles of the operator, and is compatible with all the handsets in the market. It is integrated into the main 121 system of Airtel. To sign up for this service, Airtel users need to SMS MCHEK to 121, or go to www.mchek.com.

Signing-up involves registering the credit card and creating a 4-digit mChekPIN. Mobile number plus mChekPIN is all that the customer needs to transact. The mobile mChekPIN is tied to a particular mobile number.

The service is aimed at empowering the customer to make transactions in a safe and secure manner while providing the convenience of anytime, anywhere payment. It was critical that there is no ambiguity in the customers mind with respect to the security aspect of the service. The security aspect is taken care of by the fact that mChekPIN is linked to a particular mobile number upon registration.

The service allows the customer instant sign-up and payment by SMS. Self-care services provide empowerment to customers who dont have time. Time is not a constraint anymore for Airtel post-paid customers as the mobile bill payment service offers the convenience of bill payment on the move and in a secure manner. What this translates into for the company is greater customer satisfaction scores, leading to customer delight.

With the help of the service, the company wants to help improve customer loyalty and retention, by providing it a competitive edge in the market. Further, the system allows instant posting into the Airtel billing or IN systems.

Considering the benefits, Airtel will consider extending the mChek mobile bill payment service to its pre-paid and broadband customers in the future.

Shipra Malhotra
shipram@cybermedia.co.in

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