Irish-headquartered mobile payments provider Macalla has signed a contract with Palestinian mobile operator Jawwal to enable electronic top-up services.
Jawwal has over one million subscribers and covers more than 97pc of the Palestinian territories. The company will use the Macalla platform to enable its subscribers to top up electronically, replacing previous card-based top-up schemes.
“We chose Macalla because it is a proven supplier of multilingual and multi-channel enabled top-up and payment solutions in the Middle East,” said Ammar Aker, CEO, Jawwal. “The Macalla platform gives us the ability to provide our subscribers with an integrated suite of services, including banking, mobile wallet and bill payment in the future.”
Jawwal’s new e-TopUp services will be provided on channels including SMS, web, interactive voice response and point-of-sale and will be available in their shops throughout the territory. Subscribers will be able to top up their mobile phones directly and via Jawwal agents and can pay using cash or credit.
The Macalla platform’s implementation with Jawwal’s services in Arabic and English will allow Jawwal to replace its existing card schemes, along with their inherent limitations, particularly the costs implicit in operating multiple schemes.
“Jawwal passed its one million subscriber mark in November 2007,” said Niall O’Cleirigh, CEO, Macalla. “This solution will enable over one million people to top up their phones more quickly and easily than ever before”
By Niall Byrne
