Airtime is Africa's new cash
Dakar - There's nothing unusual about an African traffic cop asking for a bribe. But these days you can pay him on the spot with electronic cell phone credit.
Airtime is such a prized commodity in mobile-mad Africa that it almost works like real money.
On a continent where fixed-line infrastructure is expensive and unreliable, demand for mobile phones is booming, to a point where some rebels include phone credit on the list of demands sent to negotiators and small shops accept airtime as payment for cigarettes or a loaf of bread.
Substitute for cash
When Wim Vanhelleputte, head of Senegal's second-ranked cellular operator Sentel, was pulled over by a policeman in the country's capital, the officer asked for his profession then promptly demanded free airtime.
"Airtime is being used as a substitute for cash," Vanhelleputte said at a mobile phone conference in Dakar this week. "Maybe even cash bribes will disappear in favour of airtime soon," he quipped.
In countries where only a rich minority have bank accounts and many people live from hand to mouth, airtime is a quick, safe and easy way of transferring small amounts of cash.
New service to transfer airtime credit
The trend was sparked by a new service that allows the electronic transfer of credit between cell phones with a flick of a thumb, and is being billed as one of the biggest stimulus to growth since the introduction of the pay-as-you-go system.
As mobile phone use among Africa's middle classes reaches saturation, operators are hunting for canny ways of getting poorer people to spend more on mobile communications.
Credit transfer, or electronic recharge, allows richer folk in the cities to send airtime to their poorer rural family members, encouraging subscribers who spend very little to use their phones more.
Instant consumption
France Telecom's Orange launched an electronic recharge system in war-divided Ivory Coast in December and is already seeing the fruits, joining a plethora of other operators across the continent doing the same.
"In Africa the concept of sharing with those less fortunate, especially the extended family in rural areas, is very important, so sending airtime home makes a lot of sense," said Peter Arina, chief operating officer at Kenya's top operator Safaricom, in a recent interview.
Airtime in tiny denominations
Other operators seeking to attract poorer customers have launched airtime vouchers in tiny denominations, meaning users can buy just enough credit to make that one vital call - perhaps all they can afford.
Senegal's Sentel, owned by emerging market operator Millicom sells a 100 CFA voucher ($0.193) - enough for two or three calls, at the price of two cigarettes and less than a bus ticket.
"It is instant consumption behaviour that works well in Africa," said Vanhelleputte.
"It's like using a pay phone or drinking a coke."
News from www.news24.co.za
Posted by: www.SouthAfrica-CarHire.com
