Retailer Pick n Pay has relaunched its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), PnP Mobile, introducing a new app that offers eSims on demand.

According to Pick n Pay, the app includes a raft of new self-service features such as instant eSim activation and a self-Rica process that does not require customers to visit a store for activation.

“The new app has been designed to provide an experience that puts convenience, control and value in the customer’s hands,” said Deven Moodley, executive head of value-added services, financial services and mobile at Pick n Pay, in a statement on Tuesday.

“With the new eSim capability, users can sign up on the go; there is no need for an additional Sim to receive the benefits that Pick n Pay Mobile offers.”

The new app also allows PnP Mobile users to build their own mobile plan, which the retailer said allows prepaid users to manage their mobile spend “without the traditional inconvenience of having to do so in person at the till point every month”.

Coinciding with the app launch, PnP Mobile has also slashed prices across its offering to “give more data, more airtime and more voice at affordable prices”. The move comes amid intensifying competition in the MVNO market, including from other retailers such as Spar Group.

Spar Mobile is similar to Pick n Pay’s offering in that it links mobile rewards to in-store spend. Other MVNOs by grocery retailers include Shoprite Knect Mobile and Boxercom, owned by Pick n Pay subsidiary Boxer.

Rewards programme

Pick n Pay Mobile was launched in 2020 and the retailer claims the MVNO has proved popular with its customers due to its free rewards linked to the Pick n Pay Smart Shopper loyalty programme. PnP Mobile users automatically earn 1MB of free data when reloading with a minimum of R20 of airtime or data for every R1 spent with Pick n Pay in-store.

Read: Spar Mobile is South Africa’s latest MVNO

The launch of its new app and MVNO services relied on a partnership between Pick n Pay and enablement platform (MVNE) Huge NXTGN. MVNEs provide MVNO customers with the technology to run their mobile services. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media

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