This article is brought to you in partnership with eSIM Go, written by Mitchell Fordham, Chief Revenue Officer & Co-founder at eSIM Go.

Payment brands, neobanks and other fintechs are continuously seeking innovative ways to foster loyalty, drive account registrations, and reduce customer acquisition costs (CAC). More and more have found it in a new category of digital service – eSIM mobile data and phone plans – that complements existing payment services and adds value to premium subscriptions.

The limited value of traditional loyalty perks and rewards

Consumer banking and payment services have entertained all kinds of perks and loyalty rewards with varying success. The more bizarre examples of waffle irons, garden tools and even hunting rifles tend to emanate from bricks and mortar institutions, while neobanks and digital payments providers gravitate towards virtual, subscription-based add-ons. These are either useful (e.g. gym membership), delightful (e.g. cinema tickets, free coffee) or a judicious mixture of both that also imbues feelings of safety, trust and permanence (e.g. personal or travel insurance). 

It sounds great in theory, but the value quickly drains out of these for two reasons: 1) they aren’t necessarily essential, and 2) it isn’t obvious how they benefit the customer relationship.

Mobile data and phone plans, by contrast, not only create this additional value but also act as both a flywheel for perpetually evolving value and a conduit for a more complete, trusted and personalised customer relationship.   

A digital connection that ties digital customers to your digital brand experience

eSIMs are virtual SIM cards, and this subtle change in telco technology makes it significantly easier for fintechs to not only offer mobile plans as an added customer perk, but to do so under their own brand. Having been held back by the historic constraints of plastic SIM card distribution and support infrastructure, payment providers and neobanks like Western Union and others have moved to capitalise on this digital evolution in mobile. The smartest are viewing this as a channel for achieving customer loyalty and other business objectives – understanding that it’s more than just a revenue generator.

All this is happening at a time when consumers have never been more reliant upon data connectivity both at home and especially when traveling abroad.

eSIMs in action 

Western Union launched its eSIM offering in March, in partnership with eSIM Go. For them, equipping digital wallet customers with global connectivity possibilities serves the dual purpose of traveling with ease and optimising access to digital banking services from anywhere. Western Union eSIMs give customers hassle-free access to wallet-friendly data roaming, either to use on their next foreign trip or to effortlessly send to family and friends living abroad.

At the launch of the service, Western Union’s Head of Global Ecosystem Partnerships, James Osterloh, said: “We are delighted that, with this innovative service we enable our digital wallet customers to have full control over their connectivity needs as well as their finances, adding further value when they use our product.”

What connectivity does for customer acquisition and loyalty

eSIMs help consumers ‘beat the system’ and avoid expensive data roaming charges when traveling abroad. They also fit snugly within traditional loyalty schemes, representing an achievable reward that scales from less than $5 to over $100 per redemption.

The impetus for a branded eSIM service might begin as a subscription perk providing added value to customers, but it’s always got that scope to go on and open new avenues for continuous engagement. That’s because connectivity is a license to connect. It’s a new touchpoint; a bridge that, with permission, you can meet in the middle with your customers. Not only enabling them to use connectivity-reliant digital payment services more frequently, but also – for example – allowing fintech providers to harness valuable data on customer behaviour and preferences to use in delivering hyper-personalised content and offers. 

It’s a future worth exploring. Rest assured, your competitors already are, and your customers won’t be far behind.

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