Business Wire

DING

Share
Phones, Payments and the Pandemic: Covid’s Impact on How We Communicate and Spend Money

The release of the Inaugural Ding Global Prepaid Index (GPI) has produced unexpected findings of an untapped market with high growth potential that has been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. This bi-annual global study commissioned by Ding , the world’s largest mobile top-up service, examines the views of 7,000 respondents across the US, the UK, France, KSA, UAE, Qatar, Brazil, Indonesia, and the Philippines, regarding their engagement in the prepaid market and their attitudes towards it. The prepaid market is defined as people who use prepaid mobile billing; prepaid financial products such as prepaid credit cards; prepaid utility bill payment, or prepaid gift cards / vouchers.

Market Intelligence - what the report tells us

This report is telling: 79% of respondents use at least one prepaid service, while 45% use two or more; prepay is seen as a more flexible way to engage the services they need and want rather than bill pay (or postpay) options. Prepaid mobile bills account for the highest usage (61%), followed by prepaid utility bills (31%), prepaid vouchers and gift cards (19%) and prepaid financial products such as a prepaid visa card (17%).

While many assume that the prepaid market primarily serves those in a lower income bracket, the study has revealed that a high number across all income brackets engage in prepaid services. In fact, higher-income earners use prepaid products most, with 84% of respondents in this bracket stating they use prepaid services. This result is relatively high across the board, with 78% of low-income earners using prepaid services as do 79% of medium-income earners.

“The Global Prepaid Index has revealed the enormous market potential for prepaid products,” said Mark Roden, Chief Executive and Founder of Ding. “Our research shows that prepaid products attract all walks of life, with many people engaging by choice rather than out of necessity. In an era where we can use technology to provide better transparency and control over our finances, as well as to use it to quickly access services, it is no surprise that people are willing to have their electricity or mobile phone service cut off for example because, in minutes, they can just top it up again.”

Market Opportunity

“Today we see a business opportunity to cater to the prepaid market more than ever,” said Roden. “The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend not only due to financial uncertainty but also with many unable to see their loved ones in person due to social distancing and restrictions on international travel. Even on our own platform, we have seen close to a 50% annual uptick in prepaid transactions during 2020, with customers prioritising keeping in contact by either topping up their own phones or sending airtime to others.”

*** Ends ***

About the Ding Global Prepaid Index (GPI)

The Ding Global Prepaid Index (GPI) is a major bi-annual survey analysing the prepaid market.

The inaugural GPI shines a light on the people who may see prepaid products and services as their only option to live in the world today. 7,000 respondents were surveyed across Europe, Asia and the Americas regarding their use of prepaid offerings, examining the attitudes, activities and outlook of the forgotten billion in particular during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Those surveyed were evenly distributed across gender and aged over 18, 30 percent of the sample also identified as expats.

About Ding

Ding was founded to improve people’s lives by helping those with less gain access to more. As the number one international mobile top-up service in the world, Ding has been keeping people connected since 2006, when it launched this first-of-a-kind service. Today, Ding’s users have successfully sent over 450 million top-ups globally, via the app, online at Ding.com, and in-store at over 600,000+ retail outlets worldwide.

Ding is the world’s leading universal top-up service. Ding delivers a top-up every second, via 550+ operators, across 140+ countries – helping families and friends around the world to stay connected.

Link:

ClickThru

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

Maxion Announces Strategic Actions to Serve Growing Demand for Light Vehicle Aluminum Wheels in South America3.11.2025 23:38:00 CET | Press release

Includes Joint Venture through Polimetal to Increase Capacity in Argentina Iochpe-Maxion (B3: MYPK3) through its wheels business, Maxion Wheels, announced the strategic expansion of its light vehicle aluminum wheels business in South America with the redeployment of existing global assets to Brazil, and the acquisition of a 50.1% shareholding in Polimetal, a leading producer of aluminum wheels in Argentina. “Passenger car sales continue to rise across South America, with our wheels business, especially light vehicle aluminum wheels, continuing to gain share in Mercosur,” stated Pieter Klinkers, President and CEO of Iochpe-Maxion. “To address this growing market and corresponding aluminum wheel demand, Maxion Wheels is implementing three strategic initiatives. First is the utilization of our global operations, together with our domestic forces in Brazil, to support the immediate additional demand. Second is the redeployment of existing global assets to our two Brazilian light vehicle al

GigaDevice Highlights Breakthroughs Across AI, Power, and Consumer Applications at Embedded World 20253.11.2025 17:00:00 CET | Press release

GigaDevice, a leading semiconductor company specializing in Flash memory, 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs), sensors, and analog products, will present its latest breakthroughs in AI-driven facial and voice recognition, power management, and consumer applications, at this year’s Embedded World North America. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251103394601/en/ This is the second running of EWNA, with the expo taking place in Anaheim, CA, from the 4th of November. GigaDevice’s technology will be on display at Booth #6085 throughout the three-day exhibition. Like its European sister show, the event brings together many of the leading developers and system architects from across the embedded electronics sector. GigaDevice's demonstrations will highlight the performance and versatility of its GD32 MCU family across several demanding applications: Edge AI Recognition Systems: GigaDevice will showcase facial and voice reco

Coulson Aviation Develops SafeFuel, the First Onboard Fuel Quality Assurance and Protection System3.11.2025 16:30:00 CET | Press release

Coulson Aviation (USA), the world’s largest aerial firefighting company and operator of the most advanced mixed fixed- and rotary-wing firefighting fleet, has developed SafeFuel, the aviation industry’s first onboard system designed to verify fuel quality and detect contamination during refueling. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251103342390/en/ Coulson SafeFuel is the world’s first patented onboard fuel-quality assurance and protection system. It continuously analyzes the product during refueling, detecting contamination or chemical degradation in real-time, preventing unsafe fuel from ever reaching the tanks. The innovation comes amid growing safety concerns following multiple fuel-related incidents in military and commercial aviation, and recent Navy aircraft accidents under investigation. Coulson Aviation’s aircraft often operate in remote environments around the world, where the risk of contaminated or of

Stefanini Group and Scopism Survey Reveals Rapid AI Adoption, Identifies Key Global Trends Shaping Service Integration and Management (SIAM)3.11.2025 15:42:00 CET | Press release

Launched today at the Scopism Service North Conference in Manchester, UK, the report finds that 85% of organizations now use AI in key SIAM processes, while also highlighting integration and data privacy roadblocks Stefanini Group, a global tech consulting company with strong expertise in digital transformation and artificial intelligence solutions, and Scopism, a global leader in Service Integration and Management (SIAM) best practices, today announced the release of the Global SIAM Survey 2025 White Paper. The eighth annual report, sponsored by Stefanini, was launched and presented by a panel at the Scopism Service North Conference in Manchester, UK, and provides unrivalled insights into SIAM adoption, maturity, and emerging trends worldwide. The survey continues to track the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on SIAM models. Results show that while reported use of AI in SIAM models overall has remained stable, AI adoption within specific areas, such as incident management, has i

Incyte Announces More than 50 Abstracts Accepted for Presentation at the 2025 ASH Annual Meeting3.11.2025 15:31:00 CET | Press release

INCA033989, a first-in-class mutant calreticulin (mutCALR)-targeted monoclonal antibody, will be showcased in three presentations, including new Phase 1 monotherapy and combination data in myelofibrosis (MF), updated data in essential thrombocythemia (ET) and translational data demonstrating disease modifying activity in both ET and MF. Additionally, the more than 50 abstracts accepted at ASH include new and updated data from Incyte’s MPN, GVHD and hematology programs including interim safety data evaluating axatilimab (Niktimvo™) in combination with ruxolitinib in GVHD Incyte to host an investor event and webcast highlighting the mutCALR data from the oral presentation at ASH on Sunday, December 7, 2025, from 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET Incyte (Nasdaq:INCY) today announced that data from key programs in its oncology portfolio will be presented in both oral and poster sessions at the 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, to be held December 6 – 9, 2025, in Orlando. "Th

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye