Mobile payments Imperative to improve self-service customer experience channels in ANZ UK Virgin Media and O2 merger Telstra and VHA progress 5G plans



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Welcome to the Venture Insights newsletter!
In this week’s edition, we look at: 

  • Mobile payments – Australia mobile payments steadily grow, as cash crashes
  • Imperative to improve self-service customer experience channels in ANZ
  • UK Virgin Media and O2 merger
  • Telstra and VHA progress 5G plans

CHART OF THE WEEK

Australian usage of mobile payment apps, 2018 & 2020



Source: VENTURE INSIGHTS

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Venture Insights’ TMT Surveys

Bespoke surveys help our clients capture unique insights into the key trends that are impacting Australian TMT businesses

 
Venture Insights regularly runs business and consumer surveys across a broad range of industries that are impacted by technology and disruption. With expertise in the TMT sector and years of experience, we are able to construct surveys that yield the insights that our clients are trying to capture.
These surveys create value for businesses, investors and professionals alike:
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Venture Insights’ has extensive sector knowledge and delivers high-quality, independent and locally relevant research and consulting services across the digital, media and telco sectors in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

If you want to get an unfair advantage with proprietary insights, get in touch with us.

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Mobile payments – Australia mobile payments steadily grow, as cash crashes

Percentage of Cash Payments in Australia by Number of Transactions (projections from 2022)



Source: RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, “CONSUMER PAYMENT BEHAVIOUR IN AUSTRALIA”, MARCH 2020, VENTURE INSIGHTS

Payments has emerged as one of the key areas of the shift from physical to electronic transactions, as we see an ever-expanding range of payment methods replacing physical cash. From mobile banking and contactless cards, to phone payments and bespoke apps, the payment landscape is undergoing a revolution.

In March 2020, Venture Insights conducted a short survey of 1016 consumers on their current usage of mobile banking and payment apps in Australia. In this report, we discuss the results of the survey and its implications for the payments ecosystem. Since the survey was taken, social distancing restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have seen contactless payment become more common. This means that the survey results will understate current usage of contactless payment options. When social restrictions are relaxed, we expect a rebound, but not a complete one.  These survey results therefore represent a “floor” of usage and not the new normal of higher usage that we expect to emerge. Click on the link below for more details.

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Imperative to improve self-service customer experience channels



Source: VENTURE CONSULTING

Venture Consulting recently benchmarked all of the leading ANZ telcos’ CX channels. Our analysis shows that local operators still lag their global peers. What is more, there is a real risk that the rapid shift to remote channels driven by the coronavirus crisis will drive a real decline in customer satisfaction for many players.

The good news is that there are short-term quick fixes to elevate customer experience, while more medium-term measures are put in place to set operators up for a post-coronavirus “new normal”.
Read this report based on external research by Venture Consulting in Q1 2020. Venture Consulting provides bespoke strategy consulting services for the media, digital and telecommunications industries; to help clients create opportunity from disruption.

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UK Virgin Media and O2 merger



Source: VIRGIN MEDIA • O2 • GETTY

The press has reported on an imminent merger of O2 and Virgin Media (UK). This is not likely to be driven by the pursuit of revenue synergies as dis-synergies are more likely if the brands are merged. Cost synergies are real, albeit a bit tangential. However, in a mature market even modest synergies are worth pursuing. A full regulatory review may be required but approval is likely. Market impact is somewhat nuanced, with the benefit of a distracted competitor short-term and the creation of a larger but still rational operator ultimately. For more details, click to read a report from our UK research partner, Enders Analysis. 

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Telstra and VHA progress 5G plans

Australia’s 5G development took a couple of steps forward over the last week.  Telstra reasserted its technology leadership late last week, announcing that it had activated standalone mode on its 5G network. This means that its 5G network is no longer reliant on its old 4G core network, and can make full use of the new 5G functionality. This includes things like edge computing, for example. And this week, Vodafone announced it was testing 5G at 700MHz. Currently, 5G is only available at 2.3GHz and 3.6GHz, which has limited range and in-building penetration. Full rollout of 5G in Australia will need to use lower frequencies to ensure consistent, reliable operation. Candidate frequencies include the 700MHz band, the 850 MHz band, and the 900MHz band.

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