Indian telecom industry is growing at a great speed and the growth is mostly seen in wireless or mobile segment. TRAI’s latest figure shows 91 Cr telecom subscribers where mobile subscribers consist of 88 Cr. The most interesting part is that the majority of wireless connections are prepaid subscribers i.e. 95%. An ARPU of Rs. 300 per month or Rs. 3600 per year. This gives the recharge industry a size of 3 lakhs Cr per year.
The numbers of DTH subscribers are very few but the segment is growing by 50-60 %. India has the second highest place in TV viewership in the world, but the installed DTH is very low as compared to the huge number of viewers and this gives a huge opportunity to other entrants to tap the market.
Security of online transactions has become a concern for service providers. Managing payment gateway requires constant monitoring and reconciliation. The system has to be efficient enough to deal with customers who has done a recharge but has not received the talk time.
Companies like PAY1, Mobikwik, Freecharge with mobile recharge app fills the gap of customer redressal, through faster recharge via wallet money and refunding in case of recharge failure. Some companies like PAY1 also offers cash recharge option through its vast nationwide network and an option of recharging through missed call service.
The wallet stays as a software record on the internet that can be accessed by a username and PIN for multiple transactions. It is more like online banking but the difference is reach and additional convenience you get. You can decide on how little money you want to keep in your wallet, which can be accessed either online or via smartphone application.
The companies take extra care to maintain security and safety for the users. If you change your mobile number or a mobile phone, it prompts you to change your PIN to access your account. And there are also security checks involved if you forget your PIN/Password.
