Pick n Pay launches PnP Mobile, a new Mobile Virtual Network Operator

Tech news 18 November 2020

Pick n Pay announced that it has launched PnP Mobile, which is a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that will use MTN's mobile network infrastructure.

The MVNO will give Pick n Pay customers access to prepaid SIM-based services including airtime, data, and SMS.

“Mobile technology is core to South Africans’ way of life and an essential part of the monthly grocery shop. Our country has a very high mobile phone penetration, but data costs have been a barrier. We believe expanding our services to enter the mobile market will benefit millions of our customers,” said Richard van Rensburg, Chief Technology and Services Officer at Pick n Pay in a statement.

Additionally, Smart Shoppers will earn data rewards at any Pick n Pay store including Express, Clothing, and Liquor stores. This will enable Smart Shopper customers to earn up to 2.5gb in data rewards each month.

For example, a customer will earn 5mb in data for R10 spent. To qualify for this reward, customers need to link their Smart Shopper card and top up their PnP Mobile SIM card with at least R50 over a 30-day period. Customers need to register their SIM card through the retailer's Rica facility.

Data rewards will be determined by customers’ PnP Mobile spend and will range from 250mb up to 2.5gb each month, depending on their tier.

For example, if a customer topped up their PnP Mobile SIM card with R100 and spent R1,000 on groceries, they would earn 500mb in data rewards. The data rewards are in addition to the data or airtime customers would have purchased with their R100 mobile spend.

Quintus De Beer, an executive for managed network services at MTN SA, said in a statement: “We recently launched our mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) services and we are delighted to partner with Pick n Pay to offer customers this service. Customers harnessing MVNO services may benefit from managing their activity in one place.”

Here are the rates for each tariff type (including VAT):

Voice - R1,49 per minute across all networks

Data - R0,20 per MB

SMS - R0,60 per message