It’s Not Only about Money, Honey

RMN Digital | March 15, 2012 | Asia Pacific, Consumer, Corporate, Feature, Lifestyle, Masses, Mobiles, Regions, Strategy | No Comments

India’s leading mobile operator Bharti Airtel, through its wholly owned subsidiary Airtel M Commerce Services, has rolled out an advertising campaign for the national launch of its mobile wallet service – Airtel Money.

Conveying the significance of sending or receiving money in time, the “baat sirf paison ki nahin hai” (nearest translation: It’s not only about money) ad campaign showed different scenarios in which Airtel Money can be used while overcoming limitations of time, cash, and location.

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Meanwhile, Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc., which is a provider of mobile messaging and mobile commerce services, has announced a global, strategic partnership with Telefonica Digital to provide mobile wallet services. (Read: Mobile Financial Services with Sybase Mobile Wallet)

And France Telecom-Orange and Visa Inc. say that Orange Money customers will have access to Visa prepaid account features inside their Orange Money accounts. (Read: Orange to Offer Visa Mobile Prepaid Accounts)

A research reveals that children are keener than adults on embracing new developments such as using a smartphone to buy things, with 33% expecting to use a mobile for payment and purchase and 25% expecting to use their phone as a mobile wallet – significantly higher than for adults. (Read: What Under-18s Want from Future Mobiles)

Timed with the national availability of Airtel Money, this ad campaign was launched in the beginning of this month and will subsequently be followed by films portraying Airtel Money usage scenarios including transferring money, recharge of mobile, paying electricity bills and food bills.

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Directed by Electric Dreams Film Company, the campaign has been conceptualised by JWT Delhi and is currently being promoted across print, TV, outdoor and online media. The information was released today, March 15.

Now available across 300 cities in India, Airtel Money is stated to be a secure service that allows its users to load cash on their mobile devices and spend it to pay utility bills and recharges, shop at over 7,000 merchant outlets, make online transactions, and more.

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Apart from serving as an easy alternative to cash or card payment options, the service is claimed to be the first mobile-based service to offer customers the convenience of instant money transfer to prepaid wallets and bank accounts.

Bharti Airtel is a leading telecom company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. Headquartered in New Delhi, India, it claimed to have over 244 million customers across its operations at the end of January 2012.