Derek: Hello, everyone.
Derek Johnson with tatango.com.
We're here Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona.
We're here at the GSMA Innovation City with Harold from DT1.
He has a great RCS demo.
First, though, What is DT1?
Harold: Well, DT1 is a platform provider.
We connect to over 600 operators all over the world and we offer in one single integration
access to all the operators.
So you can load the phone numbers, or their prepaid phone numbers you can load them with
a certain amount.
You can reload their cell phone with one single integration.
Derek: And currently do you work with like SMS and MMS?
Harold: No.
What we provide is the capability for you to top up the number in real time.
So we connect to all the operators, a deep integration with them, and we allow you to
directly send money to that cell phone all over the world.
Derek: And this RCS demo is essentially allowing your client, Boss Revolution, to do that better.
Harold: Basically what we're trying to showcase is another way of actually sending that top
up.
So with RCS and the technology, what it's capable to do is that in one single flow in
three steps you can top up any number all over the world.
Derek: I don't believe you.
Three steps?
Let's see how easy this.
Harold: So RCS works with triggers.
So basically you can either trigger the chatbot or the chatbot will trigger you, the same
way it works with an SMS, you get an SMS from somebody.
In this case, you're getting an SMS from the Boss Revolution asking, "What do you wanna
do today?"
In this case, you can do money transfer, you can international calling because they also
provide that, or you can send mobile top-ups where they use DT1 technology to accomplish
this.
So we're gonna click mobile top-up.
Derek: And this would be like a prepaid cell phone, in the United States a lot of people
have those.
Harold: Correct.
Well, actually not only in the United States, all over the world.
In emerging markets it's very used, like 90% of the population has prepaid for cell phones.
So people who live abroad always every month reload their cell phones of their loved ones
back in their countries.
So let's say, for example, you're a Filipino and you live in the United States, every month
you spend between $20 to $30 reloading your family back in Philippines.
So yes.
Derek: So this is a big market?
Harold: It's a big market.
So let's say, for example, here it's asking you for the phone numbers.
You can see all the numbers that I used before.
Derek: So this could be like your friends, your family, whoever you wanna help out?
Harold: We only need the phone number and we complete the top-up.
So, for example, let's select Mexico here.
This is a Mexican phone number.
What we're doing in the back is actually identifying the phone number and displaying you the amounts
that you can send to this phone number.
Derek: Based on the phone number?
Harold: Based on the phone number and that's it.
Derek: It was really cool too.
You didn't have to type in the phone number, you just selected the phone number and then
it messaged for you.
Harold: There you go.
But what happened is that, before, I typed the phone number once and it's recorded on
the RCS platform.
Derek Very cool.
Harold: Yeah it's really straightforward.
So you see one click, now two clicks.
I'm gonna send $4 to AT&T Mexico.
And what happens now is it will ask me how I wanna pay for it.
And this is where the RCS technology is so nice because it allows you to pay in different
payment methods.
Derek: And that's cool, you're using a carousel feature here to kind of show all these different
things where, if you were doing SMS, you would have to list them all out if you go over 160
characters.
Harold: It works in every phone that's RCS capable.
So let's say Google Pay.
And now what's happening in the backend is that I'm actually processing the top-up and
sending that amount to that phone number in Mexico.
And that's it, that's the end.
Now you get a receipt and that's it.
Voila.
That person in Mexico has their cell phone reloaded.
Derek: Lucky for that person.
Harold: Very straightforward.
Derek: Now, in building these chatbots, have you learned anything?
Like I know a lot of the brands out there are going to be building their own chatbots
with RCS.
Is there something you can share with them that you've learned in doing all of this?
Harold: That is very recent and it's gonna take a while to get massive adoption, critical
mass, but I think it's very well worth to be at the beginning of the technology.
Derek: And how currently are people topping up their cell phones?
Like what's the most popular way?
And then do you see RCS really making a dent in that?
Harold: It is, it is.
Actually, right now I can think of three channels, Digicel, which is a website.
If you go to westernunion.com and you try to top up a number, it's using our technology
and indeed it's using that Digicel channel.
The same with zoom.com.
Now, on the retail side there are multiple stores in the United States where you can
go, just ask cashier to top up a phone number, she will ask you for the phone number, and
that's it, transaction completed.
And the other channel is P2P which is kind of like this, phone to phone.
Right now you can do SMS, you can do USSD, both of them work and it's exactly the same.
This is an improved version of the P2P channel.
Derek: That's really cool.
Your clients, are they super excited, and then, what are they waiting for adoption?
What are they waiting for?
Harold: Again, for the RCS technology, again, it's very new.
So we're still waiting for the massive adoption.
At least in the United States, I think AT&T and Verizon are the only two companies that
actually have RCS capabilities.
So, yes, we're waiting for massive adoption.
We just wanna be there before anybody else.
And what we're showcasing here is how to do that.
Derek: It's a really cool demo because a lot of the demos we've seen have been retail,
restaurants, coupons.
This is really a practical application for using RCS where you're actually like helping
your family and friends, you know, almost pay a bill, kind of like banking.
Harold: And for the...in this case of Boss Revolution, but any of our customers you're
actually making a profit out of each transaction.
Remember, you're gonna have to pay.
Maybe not now, but you're gonna have to pay for each message that go through in and out.
Right now at the end of the transaction, you make something out of those $4.
Maybe 30 cents, maybe 40 cents, but you make money out of it, which on the other use cases
it might not be the case.
Derek: That is a great RCS demo from DT1 my friend Harold just presented.
Again, my name is Derek Johnson with tatango.com.
We're here at Mobile World Congress 2019 in Barcelona at the GSMA Innovation City.