Idea plans to rollout its Private Recharge service pan-India

Aditya Birla Group led - Idea Cellular is planning to complete its pan- India rollout 'Private Recharge' service this month. This service will allow users to recharge their mobile phone on any retail outlets without sharing numbers.

"Private recharge is aimed at letting customers retain their privacy by not sharing their numbers. The service was first launched in Kerala in August 2016 and is now available across 14 circles in the country. Pan-India rollout will be completed within this month," Idea Cellular said in a statement.

To avail this service from the company users need to generate a 'Private Code' by sending 'CODE' to SMS shortcode 55515. The 'Private Code' is then shared with retailer for completing the electronic recharge, instead of her mobile number. As Private Recharge works through standard SMS service, it can be accessed by all customers via any type of phone in real-time.

UC Web plans to invest Rs 200 crore in India until 2019

This is especially helpful for Idea's women customers who can choose not to disclose their numbers thereby ensuring their privacy. On the occasion of International Women's Day, Idea Cellular is reiterating its commitment to women's safety with the 'Private Recharge' feature on its V-Top up system," the statement said.

Both prepaid and postpaid Idea customers can avail this facility to recharge their phones and pay mobile bills, the statement said.

The company has also tie- up mobility solution company Mahindra Comviva for this, Idea Cellular's Private Recharge facility is powered by Mahindra Comvivas PreTUPS electronic recharge solution.

Speaking on the initiative, Sashi Shankar, Chief Marketing Officer, Idea Cellular said, "Ease of access, convenience and privacy are key to customer service at Idea. We were first operator in India to offer Private Recharge service and are now rolling this out on a pan-India level. We are glad that Mahindra Comviva is supporting us in this effort and are confident that this deployment will help us in reaching out to women customers and reassure them on privacy and security related concerns."

Further elaborating on the concept, Srinivas Nidugondi, Senior VP and Head of Mobile Financial Solutions, Mahindra Comviva said, "We are happy to partner with Idea in their efforts towards supporting women's right to privacy and security. Private Recharge is an all-inclusive solution which empowers all women, especially in rural areas. We have designed the product keeping in focus consumer's behavior, cost constraints and education level of resource-poor women in low and middle-income countries like India. We are confident that this product will help Idea to boost the confidence of their female customers and thus empowering them."

Idea claims to be the first to offer Private Recharge service in India.