Mobile operator MTS Belarus has upgraded its payment system, MTS Money, with additional functions. The service now enables customers to receive SMS or push-messages about road-traffic fines, and the system will allows them to pay the fine in a single click. There is no limit to the number of cars can be attached to an account.
The new automatic payment option also enables customers to set a schedule and amount for certain payments to be made from the account, by default. Payments using QR codes have also become available through the system, as well as the ability to track income and expenses for a selected period chosen.
The updated MTS Money app is already available for iOS devices, and a version for Android is expected to be launched soon.
Tarifica’s Take
Mobile money under the aegis of mobile operators has experienced great success in many economies, originally developing ones with unbanked populations but increasingly in relatively developed ones, too. In such markets, where access to bank accounts and more traditional methods of payment is no uncommon, mobile money’s chief calling card is convenience.
From the mobile-operator point of view, one of the major elements of convenience they can offer is the ability to pay bills for the operator’ services through the proprietary app. And of course, there is simplicity of consolidating multiple payment in payment—the phone bill. Now, MTS Belarus is offering customers the ability to pay not just for ordinary purchases but for recurring bills, by setting prepay options in the app. Furthermore, the convenience of paying traffic tickets through the app is a value-added service that the operator has designed with forethought for crafting distinctive features with real-world appeal.
In short, by tailoring a mobile money application in order to specific uses that customers want, an operator such as MTS can make the system much more appealing and versatile than it was previously, and thereby increase subscription. By increasing subscription and usage volume, the operator will accrue more revenue from transaction fees and possibly even drive customer acquisition and retention.