As digital technologies and market forces shrink the planet, migrant populations will be a larger presence in every city worldwide. There are many reasons why people say goodbye to their families and friends and move away from their home countries. From the search for new personal horizons or job relocation to social or political causes. People from all walks of life often find themselves looking for a new sense of belonging in the ever-growing Diaspora.
For people within the various diasporas, mobile phones are the perfect match for modern living. They suit their needs for a flexible and reliable line of contact among themselves and back home. They’re also a Swiss knife-like tool that allows for various applications and services beyond mere communication. For example, mobile phones can empower migrant workers by helping them keep in touch between each other. They can also use them to send airtime or digital goods to their families back home, as well as data bundles, and airtime top-ups
Send airtime back home and transfer digital goods
Prepaid users make up the majority of the mobile market in many countries where expats and migrant workers come from. For example, more than 90% of mobile consumers in sub-Saharan Africa have prepaid plans. In India, similar numbers can also be found. Latin America has no shortage of prepaid plans either, with countries like Mexico reporting an impressive 104.9 million plans.
It isn’t surprising that telcos servicing the diasporas try to provide effective solutions to help them send airtime back home. All of it while staying competitive, cutting costs, and staying at the top of their game.
All the right pieces need to be in the right place to easily send digital goods across borders. But a mistake in the system can delay the transfer for hours. There are many stages between sending airtime from London and receiving it at Deli, for example. Lag in the process may be an inconvenience for people that depend on such airtime for their daily activities.
Send airtime through a robust and reliable API
APIs that is, Application Programming Interfaces, are important in-betweeners that keep the delivery machine up and running. They are reliable software intermediaries that help applications talk to each other. Reloadly’s own API for top-ups offers ease of integration with mobile recharge companies that provide services to the diaspora market.
But what is airtime? Why send airtime top-up? It is the most efficient value transaction for migrant workers who want to support their families back home. In diaspora countries like Ghana, Nigeria, the Philippines, India, and Cuba, airtime is a highly valued digital commodity. It keeps families in touch across great distances, but also because it can be used locally to help businesses grow.
Servicing a large market
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, telcos have reevaluated their mobile services. In the last few years, they have faced challenges from a crowded marketplace and fierce competition, as well as unrestricted platforms. This has resulted in high customer erosion, eating away their net income. By making the best out of the diaspora’s need for airtime, telcos may not only provide quality services to their existing customer base but also increase visibility among current and potential users and, thus, increase their income.
Expats and migrant workers are a valuable niche to be serviced.. As of 2020, both Guyana and Bosnia & Herzegovina constitute the biggest exporters of diaspora population around the world, with a share of 36.6% and 34%, respectively. The need for them, and many others, to remain connected with their families and be able to send back goods through digital technologies is fast becoming a market opportunity for those ready to tackle its full potential.
An increasingly international workforce presents telcos with fresh chances to satisfy customer demand and boost revenue. According to the WHO, There are 169 million migrant workers around the world, and it is crucial for them to stay in touch with the friends and family left behind in their homelands. The rise in cross-border airtime top-ups for mobile phones in other nations underscores this need.
Advantages of sending airtime using Reloadly’s worldwide API for top ups
By partnering with Reloadly, telcos and mobile recharge companies serving the niche market of expats and migrant workers can easily access 170+ countries serviced by 800+ mobile providers. All of it is without the technical hassle of other APIs for top-ups. On the one hand, due to the ease of use and integration of Reloadly’s technology. On the other, due to the dedicated 24-hour support team service.
Using Reloadly’s infrastructure, companies can provide their diaspora customers with an easy and secure means to send airtime top-ups to their family and friends. A partnership of this kind gives companies an advantage over their competitors in the sector, but it also unburdens diaspora workers who are constantly looking out for quality services to help their loved ones back home.
For the former, it boosts their financials while strengthening their reach in various countries in Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, and Latin America by expanding their services to workers out of those regions. For the migrants, it gives them the guarantee that their top-ups will be delivered immediately and on the spot. Because of how easy it is to integrate with Reloadly’s API for top-ups, airtime is delivered seamlessly across distant borders.
By offering a trustworthy service, backed up by one of the best APIs for top-ups in the market, companies will:
- Create brand loyalty: By keeping their end of the deal and delivering the goods on time and on the spot
- Acquire more customers: Word of mouth, online reviews, and good press. All of it works in favor of companies that offer a service expats and migrant workers can trust.
- Improve and increase user engagement: By running customer reward schemes among current users, such as accumulating points per number of airtime top-ups, etc.
In the end, it is all about the people
Reloadly’s partnership with telcos and mobile recharge services is, of course, good business for everyone involved. However, in the end, it all comes down to the human dimension. Teaming up to deliver digital goods back to their homelands through airtime top-ups enables everyone in the diaspora to know that they are supporting their families, despite the long distances. For example, 82% of smartphones in India are prepaid, and many run out of credit daily, so there is an important market to keep these phones fully topped with data and airtime.
We at Reloadly are happy to be a part of the long service chain that keeps people in the diaspora in touch with their homelands. As a company based on the strength of cultural diversity, we have a great sense of pride in helping bring happiness to people from all the diasporas worldwide, making life much easier for all of them.
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