Telenor EasyPaisa Past, Present and Future

Written by Jamil Arif

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

On the launching of EasyPaisa (15th Oct, 2009) Telenor spent Millions of rupees to prove its muscle and build an impression in the cellular market. Only the Jang Group was given more than Rs.10.5 million on the very first day of launch. According to sources over 100+ Millions were spent on advertisement and follow up campaign without the outdoor publicity.

Telenor is still not authorized by Electricity Departments in different regions of Pakistan (LESCO and IESCO) to collect the bills from public, there is no official statement till date. It has been over a week and EasyPaisa shopkeepers and Telenor franchisees are still not conveyed by the Telenor to stop collecting LESCO, FESCO and IESCO etc. from the customers nor there any sort of public notice in the newspapers to inform and guide the public in general.

On one hand, company is spending too much on advertisements and on the other hand it has to pay a huge sum of money to PTA which is outstanding which is damaging its reputation, also, it is least interested to release a single ad in the newspaper to let the people know its inability to collect electricity bills which is the right of a customer. It is still a question why company bombarded the entire country heavily using all kinds of publicity mediums on a service which was already being offered by the NADRA. Other than this, Mobilink’s GPO & Gene services along with the Zong bill collection are other similar services in the market. How can it claim that it is making life easier through EasyPaisa.

Today I finally receive a email from the Telenor containing the formal clarification about the issue :

Recently, media has reported that IESCO and LESCO have asked their customers to not deposit their bills at Tameer bank’s easypaisa retailers. IESCO and LESCO have taken the position that they do not have an agreement with Tameer bank for bill collection through this channel.

Tameer Bank has a contract with KASB authorizing it to collect bills and deposit them through KASB’s aggregator service. Tameer Bank entered into an electronic bill collection arrangement with KASB Bank under their “eUBS” service in 2007. This Service Level Agreement was enhanced in February 2009 to cater for its Branchless Banking approval. The channels covered under this arrangement include IVR, ATM, Call Center, POS and other Over the Counter (OTC) modes. We would like to highlight that all utility companies, which have electronic billing arrangements with KASB have been made available to member banks as well. Therefore, Tameer Bank rightly availed this electronic collection under its umbrella agreement with KASB.

As per contract, KASB is responsible for all negotiations and arrangements with utility companies, and we are asking them to resolve this issue with IESCO and LESCO as soon as possible.

In the interest of our valued customers, Tameer Bank and Telenor Pakistan have decided to temporarily suspend the service from IESCO at easypaisa merchants. This service will be resumed as soon as the agreement issues between IESCO and Tameer Bank are resolved.

Tameer Bank and Telenor Pakistan would like to reassure all easypaisa customers who have already paid their IESCO and LESCO bills that their amounts have safely been deposited with the relevant utility companies. Furthermore, our dedicated helpline, 111-345-100 is available 24/7, to address any customer concerns related to easypaisa or previous transactions. Customers are requested to contact with their transaction ID.

Talking to various customers regarding the decision of Telenor, even the retailers and franchisees of the company are unaware of any such statement and announcement. In my opinion, there should be a public notice in the form of a small ad in the all the national newspaper, we do not mean to see any mega advertisement like they have been doing it since the launch of the service but something that could convey the message to everyone. Otherwise it would be kind of formality fulfilled for the record purpose only. The press releases will be published other newspapers also. Official ruled out the possibility of ads in this regard.

While talking to PTA, we learnt that the authority is serious to protect the customers and they will definitely take the relevant action as per procedures.

One thing is still confusing that if KASB is the bank does all the effort and it has the agreements with all utility companies then why the entire campaign had the name of Tameer only when it does not stand anywhere. There should have been Telenor/KASB shops and retails points all around collecting the bills and it would have never happened.

If KASB is responsible for everything then why all the mileage to Tameer Bank only, whereas other telecom companies clearly mention the name of KASB to give the due credit. Why would KASB help them for a temporary period to save their name only, keeping in view Tameer and KASB have a long term agreement about 3years ago.

Why Tameer Bank had to route the payments through it? Was it a part of their agreement to increase the reputation and market value of Tameer bank by executing tons of transitions through it?

Telenor spokesperson further added that ultimately Tameer Bank is going to have all the agreements with the utility companies and KASB is serving us temporarily.

For any sort of financial transaction that involves the interest of public, things should be very clear so that customer could know who is he paying to and how his/her money will be used? I hope in future telenor and other companies avoid scams like this and it is requested to PTA that please makes sure that companies are bound to takecare of customer’s interest and also make sure that everything is in black and white and working condition before its launch.

Source : Apnatime