It’s been two years since Capitec ventured into telecommunications. In that time, its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Capitec Connect, has signed up 1.3 million active clients – and the focus is growing that base rapidly.
That’s according to Dalene Steyn, head of Capitec Connect, who spoke to journalists at a media engagement at the bank’s Stellenbosch head office last Friday.
“We’ve done really well,” Steyn said in response to a question from TechCentral. “We have 1.3 million active Sim cards, and we are constantly designing new products and services.”
It is now thinking about moving beyond mobile and into fixed-line fibre broadband – a move that, if it happens, could make local internet service providers a little nervous. A move into fibre internet services “might not happen in the next 12 months”, though, Steyn said.
The main goal with Capitec Connect, she said, is to drive up the number of active users. It is the key performance metric that sits above all others for Steyn. “It’s great to have a business where the main goal is not revenue or income but having clients actively using our service,” she said.
There is no shortage of potential customers to market to: Capitec has about 23 million retail clients – the largest of any bank in South Africa – so only about 6% of the base has signed up for the MVNO so far. Capitec Connect has an MVNO partnership with Cell C and does not build its own mobile infrastructure.
Expansion plans
What makes the customer sign-ups impressive is that only Capitec banking clients are eligible, and they must go into a branch, of which there are about 900 around the country, to collect a Sim card and comply with the Sim card registration process.
As the bank eyes growth for Capitec Connect, Steyn said it has several propositions it is working on, including the launch of a basic smartphone costing R499 and, through a close working relationship with MultiChoice Group, expanding beyond the discounted Showmax packages the bank already offers, to include DStv Stream bouquets.
Read: Showmax cuts subscription fees in half in deal with Capitec
Details about the Capitec DStv packages are expected to be announced later this month.
Social and streaming data bundles are also imminent and will be designed to complement the relationship with DStv and Showmax, said Steyn.
Within the next few weeks, Capitec also plans to start using airtime and data to incentivise customer behaviour when banking. “Any behaviour we want to drive, we can reward you with data when you do that,” she explained.
The idea is to convince Capitec Connect customers to start using the bank’s Sim card as their primary Sim instead of as a secondary Sim.
Steyn said Capitec clients buy more than R2-billion of airtime from South African mobile operators every month. There is an opportunity for Capitec to capture a bigger chunk of that spend, provided it can “offer them a better product that is more accessible” to them than what’s on offer elsewhere. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media
- The author travelled to Stellenbosch as a guest of Capitec
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