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Clickatell, a U.S. provider of mobile commerce and messaging solutions, announced late Thursday it is partnering with South Africa-based airline FlySafair to enable the airline’s customers to pay for checked luggage using the WhatsApp messaging channel.
To make a payment, the airline’s customers access the WhatsApp channel on their mobile phone by texting Hi to their FlySafair account. Next, travelers select the My Booking tab, followed by the Buy a Bag tab, and follow the prompts on the secure payment link to pay for the bag being checked. FlySafair customers can also scan a QR code at the check-in counters to receive the secure payment link.
Billed as an alternative to short-messaging service or text messaging, WhatsApp allows users to send text and voice messages, make voice and video calls, and share images, documents, user locations, and other content. WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc., is a free app used by more than 2 billion people in more than 180 countries, according to the company’s Web site. The app’s name is a play on the phrase What’s Up.
FlySafair began offering the WhatsApp channel through the Clickatell platform about a year ago. The FlySafair WhatsApp channel hosts information about customer bookings, flight status, and general flight information. Travelers can also use the app to check-in and receive boarding passes and chat with a live FlySafair customer-service agent.
“We are thrilled to work with FlySafair to transform its customers’ experience by making it possible to make payments using their mobile phones. No one has time to stand in queues anymore, and almost every adult on the planet has a mobile phone,” Jeppe Dorff, chief product and technology officer at Redwood City, Calif.-based Clickatell, says in a statement. “There is a major opportunity for airlines across the globe to enhance their customers’ travel experience by making it possible to browse, book, and pay for, as well as manage, their travel bookings on their mobile phones.”
According to Clickatell’s “Chat Commerce Trends Report: Travel Edition 2022,” 89% of respondents say they would like to use mobile messaging to interact with airlines, while 77% said they are willing to use a mobile payment link with travel brands. In addition, 48% of respondents say would like to book a flight reservation with an airline using mobile messaging. Commerce within mobile messaging is becoming the preferred way for consumers to transact, the report says.
“We are always looking for ways to improve our customer experience and are excited that our customers can now pay for their luggage with a payment link shared to their mobile phones via WhatsApp,” Kirby Gordon, FlySafair’s chief marketing officer says in a prepared statement. “There is no need any more for our customers to go stand in a queue at the airport to pay for luggage.”
