Leading mobile commerce company SWAP Mobile will be taking some of the sting out of winter for many people this year with its recently launched mobile prepaid electricity voucher service. Now, users are able to buy electricity vouchers in minutes, directly from their cellphones and wherever they are - the most convenient way yet to top up prepaid electricity.
The electricity voucher service adds an exciting and practical new function to the SWAP Wallet, a payment tool already available on all South African cellphones. The SWAP Wallet, launched in 2008, is currently widely use by cellphone owners to pay bills and COD charges, as well as to purchase instant airtime for any network directly from their phones. The addition of prepaid electricity to the available menu makes it a substantially more flexible financial offering.

In order to make use of the service, an electricity customer needs to register a free SWAP Wallet. Any cellphone user – regardless of cellphone handset type or the cellphone network in use – can activate a Wallet by dialling *130*1313# toll-free and following a series of onscreen prompts. Registration is quick and easy and, once completed, the user can load vouchers into his or her SWAP Wallet and start transacting. An existing credit card may be linked as a payment option, or a bank account as a source for Wallet voucher top-ups initiated from the phone.

Once registered, electricity purchases are just as simple. The user dials *130*1313# and follows menu prompts to purchase electricity to the value of his or her choice with payment made from the Wallet, or from a linked credit card if the linking option has been taken.

The strong move to the use of prepaid metering options is driven largely by the control it places in the user’s hands and by the elimination of the risk of surprise bills, for example when an actual meter reading is taken after a winter of estimated readings. It does, however, require the user to plan ahead to avoid being left in the dark. The SWAP solution eliminates that concern as vouchers are delivered by SMS directly to the cellphone, anywhere in the country and 24 hours a day.

Cellphone-based payments in every area are taking the world by storm and South Africa is no exception. As businesses and users alike realise the inherent convenience and security benefits, acceptance of mobile payments is growing quickly. Currently, the widest adoption in South Africa is among businesses reaching out to the lower LSM market sectors to facilitate bill payments and remote purchases such as those initiated from catalogues, advertisements and websites.

For more information on using SWAP – or on joining the mobile wave and becoming a SWAP-enabled Merchant yourself – contact Colin Levin on 082 2158 354 or e-mail Conrad Baudin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The SWAP website is at www.swapmobile.co.za