Heaptalk, Jakarta – On Wednesday (02/06) Ding, a cellular top-up platform backed by Alibaba, has released its Global Prepaid Index (GPI) for Indonesia. Astoundingly, the research revealed that Indonesia holds the highest rank of prepaid service users compared to the other seven countries.
GPI, a survey that seeks fact concerning users behaviour towards prepaid services, such as prepaid cellular and utility bill, recently, found that 93% of Indonesian have utilized several prepaid aspects where the numbers is the highest compared to the seven countries opted in the survey. In addition, 48% of the respondents that use the prepaid service have employed a minimum of two prepaid products. Indonesian’s behaviour that is prudent in planning their financial, as well as their optimist mindset in economic recovery have become the main factors that support the finding.
Mark Roden, Founder & Chief Executive Ding stated, “Ding’s Global Prepaid Index have revealed a vast potential market for a prepaid product,” he added “These findings demonstrated that instead of driven by needs, the factor that influenced the public to choose prepaid payment was based on their own decision. The prepaid market has attracted people from all levels of society. The market has delivered flexibility, better transparency, as well as better financial control.”
In particular, Indonesia’s vast prepaid potential market is mainly contributed by the telecom sector. According to Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), from 350 million of cellular market share in Indonesia, 340 million among them had utilized prepaid service. This fact implies that the service has dominated 97% of the telecom market share in Indonesia.
In addition, data shows that the country has enormous traffic in telecom transactions where three quarter or 74% of respondents said that they have sent or received phone credit from or to families and friends. The result stated were triggered by Indonesian high responsibility to assist their family and friends in staying connected with others. A total of 43% of respondents uttered that providing prepaid phone credit to family and friends is a form of responsibility. In comparison, 41% of others stated that the action is conducted due to the receiver need their assistance. These views have stimulated high mobility in a phone credit transaction.
Looking forward, regulation that restricts people from traveling around due to the Covid-19 pandemic also makes internet connection, and phone credit popularity was levitated. From the study, Indonesian love to communicate through messaging application such as Whatsapp, followed by SNS, such as Facebook and Instagram, with the percentages of 89%, 44%, and 41%, respectively. Moreover, positive views of Indonesian towards the economy, including employment and family income, have encouraged the incredible amount of prepaid transactions.
Mark added, “Connectivity has become an inseparable medium in keeping the sense of intimacy to family and loved ones for the past year, and is predicted will continue in 2021 and so on. Indonesian respondents uttered that the activities that they want to be carried out are to spend time with families and friends. Yet, regarding the uncertainty travel regulation as well as challenges that should be passed post-pandemic, phone credit and digital connectivity will be critical and needed.”