Cellphone recharge: Users go digital as 0.9m retailers fold business during lockdown

Mobile phone recharge has gone digital by up to 40 per cent from less than 15 per cent as the pandemic is increasingly pushing people into home while retail outlets are shut after lockdown.

Given the situation, the customers have opted for digital payment systems, mobile financial services, electronic cards for the recharging cellphones as 40 per cent of nearly 900,000 (0.9 million) recharge points is closed from March 26.

Mobile phone recharge retailers fear that at least half of the them will not be there even if the situation returns to normal.

"We have seen a significant decrease in retail operations from the beginning of countrywide lockdown, which keeps extending," Mohammad Hasan, head of external communications of Grameenphone told the FE.

"We have seen up to 40 per cent of growth in digital platform usage during COVID-19," he said.

He said a large number of customers of the top mobile telephony firm meet their recharge needs during the lockdown period through MyGP, Gpay app, different bank cards, mobile financial service, and various online-based recharge platforms and wallet services,

Similar development happened to the second-largest mobile operator Robi.

"During lockdown period, our recharge through digital platforms jumped up to 40 per cent," Shahed Alam, chief corporate and regulatory affairs officer, told FE.

He said the subscribers used MFS platforms to recharge mostly.

But, he said, the company has witnessed 1.0 or 2.0 percentile drop in digital recharge during the last few days as normalcy is gradually being restored.

"We think this fall will continue till we have full reopening of business and it will stop at around 20 to 25 per cent," he said.

About 45 million people used bKash to top up mobile balance in April, which was 32 million in January, an increase of 40 per cent, according to data from the country's leading mobile financial service (MFS) provider.

President of the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Users' Association Mohiuddin Ahmed said these recharge points will not come back again in the same business as they will not be required.

"Once people get used to digital financial service, they will not go to recharge points as digital or MFS is more convenient," he told the FE.

He also said the commissions given by network operators for recharge are insignificant.

"If 40 per cent or half of recharge points stop operating, it would be difficult for the rest of the retailers to continue business as they will get few customers," he said. .

President of the Bangladesh Mobile Phone Recharge Babosayee Association Aminu Islam Bulu agreed with Mohiuddin Ahmed.

He said the country has nearly 900,000 mobile phone recharge points.

"Many of them are very small businessmen," he said adding that he wrote to the telecom minister for financial assistance to retailers, but got no response.

"I believe many retailers will be no more in business after Covid-19 is gone," he added.

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