RATHER than relying solely on credit cards, consumers in Singapore may soon have the option of using cash to top up their Skype accounts.
The company is considering the possibility of adding loyal payment alternatives to make it more convenient for users to buy credits for making calls through its Internet telephony software, according to Mr Christopher Lewis, Skype's head of strategy and new business in Asia. Skype has more than 309 million users worldwide and one million are based in Singapore, Mr Lewis told The Business Times in an interview this week.
The subsidiary of Internet auction site eBay offers one of the most popular tools for making free PC-to-PC voice and video calls. Users also have the option of buying credits to allow them to call fixed lines and mobile numbers globally from their computers at a fraction of prevailing IDD rates.
Last week, the company introduced new "unlimited calling" services to allow consumers to make calls to landlines in 34 countries for a monthly flat fee.
In Asia, users can subscribe for an unlimited-call plan to make calls to any one of the designated markets such as Australia, China, Germany and the United States for $5.95 (S$15.90) a month, while a premium plan covering all countries costs $8.95 monthly.
Local users can only use their credit cards to pay for such fee-based services currently.
However, if Skype's new plan falls in place, Singaporeans may soon be able to buy Skype credits at supermarkets or convenience stores island-wide.
While Mr Lewis did not provide details, the new local payment platform could be similar to the one introduced earlier in European markets.
In Britain, for example, the firm partnered with Sainsbury to allow the supermarket chain to sell Skype credits to consumers in the form of electronic vouchers. Similarly, another deal with Ukash extended the option of buying such vouchers to more than 50,000 shops across Britain, Ireland and Spain.
"Six per cent of all global IDD calls are now made through Skype," Mr Lewis added.
