While most of us will no doubt agree the prepaid phone card boom is well behind us, but the real question now is what kind of future does the prepaid card business hold?
The answer, seems to be clear by the fact that the once powerful companies, like UTA and STI are just not doing well. Sales of prepaid cards are at an all time low and I think the market was just so badly managed and abused that the customers are more willing to try other methods of long distance calling, like with prepaid cellular phone, VOIP services (Skype/Vonage) as well as traditional long distance.
The idea that the average prepaid phone card customer is credit challenged and prefers cash business is changing and more and more immigrants are either becoming more credit enabled or now have the means, through prepaid cash cards and other debit systems, to buy more mainstream services.
Immigrant consumers are more educated and technology savvy than they were 5 years ago and the rates that Ma Bell and VOIP players are offering today are so low that it is almost no wonder why a lot of people are turning away from phone cards.
What do you think?
Saturday, March 31, 2007
What is the Future of Prepaid Phone Cards?
Writer: Phone Card Advertising:
Labels: General Telecom, VOIP
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3 comments:
I don't think prepaid cards will ever go away. In fact I think that you will have more options for managing your prepaid account online and accessing your balance for PC2Phone calls, similar to skype credits. People will pay for quality regardless if it is online or offline.
I don't doubt that prepaid phone cards will always be around in some shape or form, I just think that the phone card world as we know it is changing fast. The online side of the business will grow and the disposable store bough side will continue to decline as the customers become more sofisticated and move over to other more "stable" types of services.
unfortunate today i have to buy and use an prepaid card (IDT washington goool) and very desappointned because everytime I dial my destination number a voice from no where say:"You don't have enough money to complete this call please press 9 to use a credit card" so I decide to hung up and try again and for my sorprice the balance went down,and so on for all attemps. My five dollars calling card was now a two dollars and some change, I call customer service and the guy say: "everytime the phone rings five times you get charged,but as soon I finish dialing my destination number that voice come up telling me to use my credit card"" I dont see any future at all on calling cards, and soon the whole word will find out that this is more like a real spam, ripping off some hard working people trying to get closer to their families. Personally tonight was my first and last calling card that I buy for 2012, people BE AWARE!! $5 DOLLARS IS $5 DOLLARS.
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