Phone payments through ATMs

Phone payments through ATMs

JAKARTA (JP): Telephone subscribers who are also customers of BCA bank will enjoy in May a new service from the state-owned domestic telecommunications company PT Telkom in paying monthly phone bills through Automatic Teller Machines (ATM).

"We have sign an agreement with BCA to run the service. The preparation for the Jakarta greater area subscribers is under completion," Telkom's operation and marketing director, Dadad Kustiwa said here on Wednesday.

He said that after the trial operation in the city, the service would soon be introduced nationally, in which Telkom's subscribers would be able to pay the billing charges through BCA's ATM.

There are currently some 2.8 million people in the country subscribing Telkom, more than half of the subscribers live in Greater Jakartans.

Telkom's assistant vice president of marketing, Maman Sulaeman, said that BCA currently listed some 4 million customers who would be potentially use the new service.

"ATMs open 24 hours per day, so, people will not necessarily queue at Telkom offices or banks counters to pay the monthly bills," he said.

Dadad also said yesterday that his company would also launch more campaign on non-cash payments.

In 1988, Telkom introduced for the first time non-cash billing payments system through bank accounts. (icn)