plan.com has responded to a new Ofcom rule that came into force last month, that allows mobile users to cap their spending, with the launch of a self-service platform that alerts customers whenever a spending cap is reached and enables them to increase the cap and remove the restrictions, or add bolt-ons that extend their service.
Co-founder Keith Curran said: “The biggest impact that this regulatory change is having is among airtime providers. Capping spending is a huge technical undertaking that impacts every aspect of the services they provide. We responded to the Ofcom regulations by transforming this challenge into an opportunity.
“We’ve simplified complex regulations and delivered a self-service tech solution that provides our partners and customers with more flexibility, more immediacy and more intuitive technology.”
Curran pointed out that additional charges can be incurred in a number of ways and airtime distributors are now being asked to control the whole spectrum of their telephonic and digital services.
"This means that for most service providers the new regulations have a huge cost implication as they have forced large scale revisions of technical infrastructure, business processes and cashflow," added Curran.
"Business customers need full control over their bills, but they also need a level of flexibility that allows them to control their services and keep them connected.
"Ensuring both requires the application of sophisticated technology. Our new service-specific web pages, called Captive Pages, are triggered automatically or via SMS when a spending cap is reached and a service becomes restricted. Customers then have the option to increase their spending cap and purchase bolt-ons."
Since launch, 38% of people who received Captive Pages opted to extend their spending caps and 17% added a bolt-on.
"These actions, which would previously have meant a phone call to customer services or a series of emails, were dealt with instantly and effectively by the customer," added Curran.
"There’s no bill shock at the end of the month because the customer controls every limit increase and is alerted before they reach the new limit, as well as when a limit is met.”