Taxi commuters will soon be able to purchase prepaid airtime and electricity vouchers from taxi drivers with the help of a new device, Siya-fona, developed by Transtech Global Africa.
"Electronic airtime selling is safe and convenient, and there`s never the risk of vouchers being lost or stolen," says Sibusiso Mvelase, MD of Transtech Global Africa.
The device is GPRS-enabled and will cost operators between R3 500 and R4 000. According to Mvelase, a whole package, which includes the airtime device, mounting kit and any additional products, should cost around R7 000. The company is working to find an appropriate place within taxis to mount the device.
The electronic device will enable passengers to purchase airtime from Cell C, MTN and Vodacom, as well as prepaid electricity. As vendors, the taxi operators who install the device will receive margins of between 7% and 12%, subject to agreements with the various service providers.
The device will operate on a prepaid system, says Mvelase. "Once a customer buys the device, they will be registered on our systems and they will be able to update their [device`s] airtime balance by depositing money into a bank account." This is then resold to passengers.
One limiting factor is that transactions are cash only, as the device is not enabled for card payments.
Mvelase notes that other services are also available on the device. "There are other products which the operator can buy together with the device. There is a service which the operator can use for fleet management. With this, the owner can be notified via SMS if his taxi is in an area in which it does not operate."
The device will be available from February 2009. It will be implemented in Gauteng first and will be rolled out to the other provinces, if it proves successful.
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