Safaricom Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore. Photo/businessdailyafrica.comThe value of Safaricom’s Bonga Points has hit the Sh3.3 billion mark implying subscribers are yet to claim merchandise, data or airtime worth the amount.
The telecommunications giant in its latest annual report said the loyalty award scheme increased by 28.8 percent from Sh3.23 billion recorded at the end of March 2016 Financial Year.
Safaricom clients accumulate the points based on their service usage patterns, earning a point for every Sh10 spent on voice calls, SMSs, data and M-Pesa services.
“The growth in Bonga Points is a natural result of the continued growth in our customer numbers as well as the increasing number of services and products which are rewardable on our network,” chief executive Bob Collymore said on Thursday.
“This is not a concern because we view Bonga Points as a reward to customers for their continued use of our services.”
Bonga Points which were introduced in 2007 eat into the the company’s revenue given that accounting guidelines require the firm to only recognise the loyalty points as sales once customers redeem the credits. This has seen Safaricom innovate new ways through which customers can redeem their points.
Safaricom recently partnered with retailers such as Naivas Supermarkets to launch Bonga Popote, a scheme that allows subscribers to use their points to make purchases at the retail chain.