MTN South Africa has selected Clickatell, a customer engagement company, to launch MTN Chat, enabling its customers to engage with the telco over WhatsApp.

MTN Chat will enable customers to initiate purchase of airtime and data bundles within their WhatsApp chat session. Customers will be able to access customer support and self-service options, including performing upgrades, managing their accounts, and receiving low balance alerts.

MTN Chat is part of the MTN vision to significantly enhance its digital business offering to boost its customer base through advanced services.

MTN South Africa has 31.2 million mobile phone subscribers on its telecom network. MTN South Africa has achieved 98 percent 3G coverage and 90 percent 4G coverage across the country.

MTN South Africa has 13.6 million mobile data customers. The data revenue of MTN South Africa rose 12.7 percent in Q4 2018. MTN South Africa had an annual Capex of R 9.4 billion in 2018.

“By offering convenient services over a secure, convenient channel, MNOs can both increase their transactional volume and attract and retain customers,” said Pieter de Villiers, Clickatell Founder and CEO.

Clickatell has already helped Absa Bank, GTBank, First Bank of Nigeria and United Bank of Africa deploy chat banking capabilities on WhatsApp across Africa.

Clickatell is a WhatsApp Business solution provider. The WhatsApp Business API provides brands the ability to send out notifications and conduct two-way conversations with consumers within WhatsApp.

“The Clickatell offerings provides an easy, secure and convenient way of giving users control over their accounts through WhatsApp, a platform they already have an affinity for,” said Jacqui O’Sullivan, executive for Corporate Affairs at MTN South Africa.