Following the decision of the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) that raised the prices of prepaid topup cards, mobile merchants started lobbying to demand raising their profitability from selling the cards.
Cairo Chamber of Commerce’s Mobile Phones and Communications Division met on Sunday to discuss the ratifications of raising the prices of cards and to put together a final vision for the target profitability increase. The division decided to meet with representatives of the mobile network operators.
A source within the division said that the target profitability ranges between 5 and 6%, up from 3% only now. He explained that they are now coordinating with mobile operators to compensate merchants for the difference in prices of cards and balance transfer, which were bought and conducted on the old prices.
The NTRA has devalued the value of prepaid cards by 30%. For example, the EGP 5 card for EGP 5 instead of EGP 5.5, and the customer gets EGP 3.5 instead of EGP 5.20 worth of credit. The EGP 10 card price is EGP 10 instead of EGP 11, and the customer gets a balance of EGP 7 instead of EGP 10.40. The price of an EGP 15 card is EGP 15 instead of EGP 16.5, and the customer gets EGP 10.5 instead of EGP 15.60.The price of an EGP 25 card is EGP 25 instead of EGP 27.5, and the customer gets a balance of EGP 17.5 instead of EGP 26. As for the price of the EGP 50 card, it is at EGP 50 instead of EGP 55, and gives the customer EGP 35 worth of credit instead of EGP 52. The price of an EGP 100 card is EGP 100 instead of EGP 110, and the customer gets EGP 70 instead of EGP 104 worth of credit. The price of a card of EGP 200 is for EGP 200 instead of EGP 220 and gives the customer a balance of EGP140 instead of EGP 208. The customer receives 70% of the value of any means of adding credit.
Moreover, NTRA has previously rejected a proposal submitted by Vodafone, Orange, and Etisalat to launch a campaign in which the companies bear the value decrease of 30% to match the same offer that Telecome Egypt (We) is marketing now.
The four companies have starting selling the cards at the new prices with launching new offers to clients, including granting more balance, or doubling the internet quota on the 4G plans, which was officially launched on Thursday in a ceremony attended by Minister of Communication and Information Technology and leaders of mobile operators.
