A well-timed app launch sets the scene for telco’s success
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The launch of Lebara Mobile’s new app could not have been more spectacularly timed.
The Australian-headquartered telco had always planned to launch better digital options this year and when a global pandemic changed the rules of engagement almost overnight, there was never going to be a better time to act.
As it happened, the pandemic provided a window of opportunity to embrace digital transformation as the need to stay in touch with family and friends during the pandemic became critical for all of us.
But lockdowns and social distancing restrictions meant that Lebara’s pre-paid Mobile customers were unable to visit a physical storefront to recharge their mobile plan.
Digital transformation made easy
The company’s head of operations, Chuthan Kanagasundaram says it was necessary to give customers a mobile-friendly option to recharge their phone plan without needing to venture outside of their homes.
Determined to make it as easy as possible, Lebara Mobile set out to add new digital payment options that were seamless on mobile. This included adding PayPal both as a payment option and also as the platform managing all payments within the app. This change in payment platform led to an improved online payment experience for Lebara’s customers.
“We wanted to simplify the recharge journey to a few clicks and make it easy for customers to pay on the go without the need to visit physical retail stores to recharge. We were also looking for a payment platform that worked well on mobile devices,” he says.
“Now, customers can click on a payment button, set up a payment type and enable a ‘remember my payment’ function to make the process easier each time. The tech upgrade has made the recharge journey possible with just a few clicks,” Mr Kanagasundaram explains.
“Our customers like the fact that there are no lock-in contracts and they have complete freedom and flexibility with Lebara Mobile. But our key priority in recent years has been digital transformation and making it as easy as possible for customers to top up their mobile plan digitally,” he says.
Proof in the results
The decision to future-proof the digital check-out experience elevates Lebara Mobile to one of the success stories of the pandemic.
“It’s no mean feat. Pre-paid mobile is a particularly competitive industry, and there’s the potential for high customer turnover,”Mr Kanagasundaram explains.
“We’ve managed to reduce customer churn during the pandemic due to the digital transformation we have implemented. In fact, the flexibility in payment options resulted in a 35 per cent higher uptake of the app than we had predicted,” he says.
Customers have also flocked to Lebara Mobile to take advantage of data banking, data gifting and the wide variety of low-cost international calls, which has proven to be valuable for customers calling loved ones overseas; particularly this year.
“The fact is that customers are always looking for a service with the best value. For this reason, we knew we needed to provide value as well as have a best-in-class digital experience,” he says.
“Despite the pandemic, it couldn’t have been a better time to launch, and downloads were much higher than we had expected. We know that partnering with PayPal gave customers a streamlined payment experience that reduced their recharge journey to a few clicks,” he says.
PayPal has remained at the forefront od the digital payment revolution for more than 20 years. By leveraging technology to make financial services and commerce more convenient, affordable and secure, the PayPal platform is empowering more than 300 million consumers and merchants in more than 200 markets to join and thrive in the global economy. For more information, visit PayPal.com.
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