Analysts estimate that in some markets, half of all paying subscribers to VOD and other OTT streaming services first experienced the service through a free trial period, often as part of a bundled offer from their telco provider. Post-trial period, the on-going subscription payment is conveniently added to the customer’s existing telco account, keeping things simple.
For markets where customers settle an account with their telco each month, it’s simple for the telco to add the cost of a subscription to the customers’ account. But in markets dominated by pre-pay accounts, or by cash and stored-value wallets, collecting recurring payments cannot be guaranteed. Frequently the customer will have insufficient funds in their account at the time the subscription is due to renew. And that’s a big problem. Failure to make a payment usually means cancellation of the subscription service – for the customer the loss of Amazon Prime Video, Netflix or Spotify, for the merchant a lost customer, and for the telco an unhappy customer.
Suspend and Resume
This is where Bango Suspend and Resume technology stands out. When the customer account cannot be billed at the scheduled time of renewal, Bango keeps their subscription active, but simply marks it as temporarily suspended. At this point the customer would be contacted to remind them of the terms of their subscription service and what action they must take to resume the subscription.
In the example of a wallet or other pre-paid account, as soon as the customer tops up again, Bango resumes their subscription. Bango can also remind customers when their monthly subscription is approaching renewal, to encourage them to top up early and avoid any discontinuation in service.