Celcom Axiata is the oldest mobile telecommunications provider in Malaysia with over 10.6 million subscribers. In early 2016, Celcom was looking to leverage the profitable Direct Carrier Billing arena and provide the service to their user base with the intention of providing DCB as a payment option for all their content providers. With over 100 potential content providers, Celcom needed a trusted partner that provided a secure yet frictionless user experience for their subscribers.
The Opportunity
Direct Carrier Billing offers a uniquely lucrative opportunity for Mobile Network Operators that traditionally received the lion share of their revenue from voice, SMS and data channels. DCB allows end users to pay for online services and content by adding the charge to their mobile phone bill. Secure and user friendly, DCB opens up the payment funnel for a business reducing customer drop offs and vastly increasing conversion rates which leads to overall revenue growth for both content providers and operators.
The Solution
Apigate’s Direct Carrier Billing API is part of the ApigateHub platform that provides a single integration point and one-stop shop for partners and service providers. One integration to the platform provides access to all the APIs the MNO has chosen to expose. With a flexible revenue sharing agreement, Celcom was spared from investing in the service up front and would only pay out when their new business line generated revenue. By integrating to ApigateHub, Celcom also received access to Apigate’s dedicated customer support channels which provide contract management, partner on-boarding and integration, finance and billing management, fraud control, consultancy and end user support.
The Outcome
After integrating with Apigate, Celcom saw their YoY revenue growth from DCB increase 5 times in 2017 versus 2016 with an expected two-fold in 2018 versus 2017 further cementing DCB as a key revenue generator for
Celcom. With zero upfront costs, Celcom’s partnership with Apigate was an easy win-win situation for both parties.
