Under a power packed campaign dubbed ‘Magetsi Kwese Kwese/Amagetsi Yonkidawo’, ZESA Holdings Group’s ICT unit Powertel Communications has recently partnered with one of Zimbabwe’s retail giants OK Zimbabwe to roll out the Powerplus prepaid electricity vouchers.
This ‘airtime-like’ method of selling prepaid electricity is found in all of OK Zimbabwe Limited’s retail outlets such as OK, Bon Marche and OK Mart that have 2 million monthly customers collectively.
Powertel Marketing Strategist Prosper Mutswiri commented:
“We are yet again excited to rollout the voucherless electricity airtime through retail outlets starting with OK Zimbabwe.”
Effective from Friday, the Powerplus electricity is found on till points inside the shops through a voucher till print method that is similar to buying everyday airtime.
This method is more or less like the Powerplus prepaid electricity scratch card facility, however without having to scratch as the recharge pin is printed on a till slip at the till point. Another differentiating factor is that the Powerplus airtime voucher will allow you to recharge on any prepaid electricity meter as it is not meter specific.
Akin to the Powerplus Scratch cards that come in $5, $10, $20 and $50 denominations, Mutswiri said OK Zimbabwe’s outlets shall sell the vouchers in those denominations. This method is simple in that a token is generated once you send the voucher pin with the meter number (to be topped up) via sms to ‘434’ using any of the local mobile networks- Econet, Telecel, NetOne and also Powertel’s 08611 customers,” added Mutswiri.
The Powerplus Prepaid electricity till point vouchers have been unveiled in the $5, $10, $20 and $50.00 denominations.
In a nutshell, this method of prepaid electricity top up has the whole nation covered. The beauty is that all three prepaid electricity top up methods – evending, scratch cards and the electricity voucher airtime, will work to support one another whilst also providing a definitive fall back position for the electricity end-user.
The recharge pins on the scratch card and till slip are redeemable on Powertel, Netone, Telecel and Econet mobile networks.
Instructions – You send an SMS to ‘434’ (redeemable on NetOne, Telecel, Econet and Powertel’s 08611 networks) in the below format:- zetdc*vouchernumber*meternumber e.g. zetdc*123456789*375900000 & send to 434.
You will receive your SMS with the token number and topup your electricity on the stated meter. The beauty of the system is you do not require to be online to receive your recharge token. Furthermore, the system itself is very fool-proof and secure as all top-up scratch cards and till point vouchers are encrypted and have a unique serial and batch number.
The entire prepaid electricity service is aggregated through Powertel working closely with ZETDC and the appointed partners who include ZB Bank, CBZ Bank, Agri-Bank, POSB, Petrotrade, Homelink, GetCash, NetOne and Ecocash.
The service is now available through varying platforms which includes over-the- counter (OTC), Point of Sale, ATMs, Mobile Money platforms, Mobile Applications, online platforms and now added convenience of Magetsi Kwese Kwese with the scratch cards and till point electricity airtime vouchers.
The company indicated its drive towards improving the customer experience through five key pillars- improving accessibility, ease of doing business, speed of service, value for money offering as well as importantly through positioning of their brand and reputation. It therefore focused its efforts towards adopting various innovations to drive customer experience and convenience.
