The Pay-As-You-Go cell phone top up structure is a disadvantage to lower income prepaid consumers because they don’t always have money when they need to top up.
Eksesa is a Pay-As-You-Have cell phone spending solution that allows them to pay for their top up needs at the time that they have money from R30 and top up any cell number as they need using *130*747687# until they use up the top up value of what they paid instead of having to pay for top ups at the time of need. When a customer makes a payment, we call it “buying access” because that’s what they get. USSD available toll-free on Vodacom, MTN and Cell C.
Eksesa doesn’t have signups so instead, we use an 8-digit number called “Order Number” to link a customer to their top up access and each Order Number is only valid until the top up access linked to it runs out and then the Order Number expires. So, to buy a top up access, a customer first requests an Order Number by dialling *130*747687# and choosing option 1 then entering their cell number and their unique Order Number will be generated and displayed on their screen to write down or screenshot then exit the menu.
There are two ways to buy a top up access;
1. Using cash
To buy a top up access using cash, a customer simply makes a deposit at any Capitec ATM using their Order Number as a reference and our Capitec business account number 1053931646. To enter their Order Number as the reference, a customer simply looks for an option that says “Change Reference” on the ATM screen along their deposit process and clicks that option then enters their Order Number.
2. Using a bank account
To buy a top up access using a bank account, a customer simply makes payment from any banking app and enter their Order Number as a reference and our Capitec business account number 1053931646. Eksesa charges a fixed R3 access fee per access purchase. After making payment, a customer can check their access by choosing option 3 on our USSD menu and entering their Order Number followed by the cell number used to request it. However, we have a 10 minutes waiting window before top ups can be requested after payment and this allows us to pay our prepaid partner who fulfils top up requests.
When a customer needs to top up from their access, they dial *130*747687# and choose option 3 then enter their Order Number followed by the cell number they used to request it. Their top up access will be displayed on their screen with three options; 1. Request airtime, 2. Request data, 3. Exit. If they need airtime, they choose option 1 and follow the prompts and they do the same with data. With every top up request, a top up access is updated until it runs out or falls below R5 and when that happens, a customer’s Order Number and the cell number used to request it are automatically deleted from our system with a new Order Number requested by the customer next time they want to buy a top up access.
A customer can connect a friend or loved one from their top up access by sharing a portion of it with them. To do that, they request an Order Number for that person using that person’s cell number then choose option 2 on our USSD menu and enter their Order Number (sending order number), enter the cell number they used to request their Order Number then enter the top up value they wish to share and enter the Order Number they’re sharing with (receiving order number) and share the receiving Order Number with the person they are giving top up access to who’ll enjoy top up certainty until their access runs out. If an Order Number is lost, it can be recovered through option 4 on our USSD menu by entering the cell number that was used to request it. An Order Number can only be recovered if it still has a positive access which is the minimum of R5.
An Order Group is a group ordering structure that allows traders to order in groups under a single order number to share costs like deposit fees on their orders. With a minimum of three traders per order group, they request an order number and each put in their desired order amount then deposit their order in one of two ways:
1. They can deposit directly into our account at a Capitec ATM using their order number as reference. This option is recommended for an Order Group of between three and five traders with an individual maximum contribution of R100 per order. Alternatively, Order Groups may;
2. Deposit their orders into another bank account then make a payment from that account into our Capitec business account using their order number as reference. For this option, we would recommend a Tyme Bank account because of accessible deposit points at Boxer and Pick n Pay stores. This deposit option is recommended for Order Groups that are making orders to the maximum of R1000 per order. This can be five traders each putting R200 into the order so we recommend this option because it is cheaper in terms of deposit fees with TymeBank charging R7 per R1000.
When we receive an order, it is recorded for the referenced order number as a top up access which traders then split among themselves based on their individual contribution to the group order. So to receive their share of the order, each trader requests their individual order number then transfers their share of the order from the group order number to their individual order number and start selling from their cell phone. Traders split their group order through option 2 of our USSD main menu called “Value Transfer”.
Orders are paid into our Capitec business account using the account number 1053931646 and we place orders with our top up partner from there.
