Polar Investments, the parent company of Dai Telecom, has invested $1.25 million in Retalix's CellTime joint venture with Lipman Electronic Engineering. The company is targeting the $200 million market for cellular pre-pay airtime in Israel. Retalix, Lipman and Polar will hold equal shares in the new company.
CellTime offers on-line solutions for selling pre-paid cellular air-time at retail points of sale. CellTime's technology enables cell phone owners to pay for airtime at the point of sale and immediately benefit from the newly acquired airtime, with no need for a physical calling card.
Airtime is purchased by entering the cell phone number into Retalix point of sale terminals or Lipman's NURIT credit card terminals. Crediting the customer's account for the acquired airtime is accomplished via on-line connectivity to the cellular operators. Within seconds from purchase, customers receive SMS messages, displaying the new air-time balance.
The services will be provided to over 10,000 Retalix points of sale in Israel, both in major chains and in hundreds of independent stores which are connected to StoreNext Israel, Retalix's e-marketplace for independent food retailers. Lipman will provide the service to thousands of small retail outlets which are equipped with the company's NURIT credit card terminals.
Dai Telecom is a wholly owned Polar Investments subsidiary and operates as the group's arm in the domestic handset retail market. The sole representative of Hyundai Electronics, Sony Ericsson, and other key players, Dai telecom's integrated activities span the entire supply chain. They range from the import of handsets and accessories, through handset insurance, laboratory services and to establishing a network of flagship stores throughout Israel. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
