The Evolution of the Telecoms Industry
The paradigm shift within the telecoms industry has increased in velocity of the last few years. It started with the evolution from fixed to mobile; but it was the mass adoption of the smartphone combined with high speed internet that brought about a revolution in the sector and opened the gateway for digitalisation on a global scale. Overnight, consumers and corporates had the power to pay, monitor and track in the palm of their hands. According to recent analysis(1), as of January 2019 there were almost 4.4 billion active mobile internet users, equivalent to 57% of the global population.
The rapid adoption of mobile digitalisation has proved to be the biggest disruptive catalyst within the payments domain. Today, almost all teleco’s provide a mobile wallet, which provides the full spectrum of financial services – including domestic and international remittances and payments, merchant services, bill payment, money transfer and account/portfolio management.
Telco’s have realised that the winners will be those that can create an immersive, instream user experience. This requires the right partnerships with legacy financial service provides, social media influencers and fintech’s. These partnerships will provide augmented content, channels and services that, when combined, will create a 360 degree experience. Whilst the telco’s focus on the seamless user experience, an intrinsic consideration must also be on the control of the financial transactions. This is a key financial, regulatory and risk consideration. This whitepaper will focus on how the Intelligent back-office will allow telco’s to benefit from large scale operational efficiencies, enhanced customer service, and flexible scalability up to a global level in order to support their digital business models.
