Guvera Indonesia Partners with Codapay to Offer Carrier Billing

Music-streaming service provider Guvera, which just recently launched Guvera #Play, has partnered with Codapay to introduce carrier billing as a payment method. The announcement, which was made on the same day as the launch of #Play, makes Codapay the fifth payment option available to Guvera customers .

Previously, Guvera Platinum members could pay for their subscriptions through four methods; credit cards, Doku Wallet, XL carrier billing, and physical vouchers. The partnership with Codapay simplifies the payment process for anyone wishing to subscribe to the Guvera Platinum especially for those who are not subscribers of XL Axiata mobile service.

“Codapay is now our latest payment gateway partner aimed at making it easier for customers to enjoy Guvera's premium service. Users will only need to enter their phone numbers on Guvera's subscription page to enable the carrier billing option," Guvera Indonesia's marketing director Dian Nur Farida told DailySocial.

Dian further explained that the process to pay using Codapay can be done through the mobile app as well as Guvera Indonesia's website. "The process is very brief, Guvera mobile app users will find it easier to enjoy Guvera especially as the payment can be done directly from their own phones. It's clear this is the simplicity that users expect", she added.

By paying through Codapay, there is an additional fee involved when subscribing to Guvera Platinum service, similar to using other payment methods.

To illustrate, I tried subscribing the monthly pass service of Guvera Platinum for Rp 55.000. However, when I selected to pay through Codapay, the cost of this service went up to Rp 75.000 per month. This additional nominal may refer to Codapay’s fee services, which ranges from Rp 7,500 to 55,000 depending on the selected subscription period.

From a practical point of view, this may not be too much of an issue but this means I will have to have  a minimum credit greater than Rp 75,000 to subscribe to Guvera Platinum for one month. It's also worth noting that six and 12 month Guvera Platinum subscription options aren't available through Codapay.

As a decision making figure for Guvera Indonesia's marketing operations, Dian hopes that the carrier billing implementation will be one of the ways to help introduce to the market access to legitimate and affordable music streaming services. She admitted that one of the challenges faced by Guvera in entering Indonesia is how to educate the majority of the consumers who still consume music illegally.

“By providing easy payment method, I hope that Guvera can be the trigger for Indonesian music listeners to consume music legally. As we know piracy is still a major issue for the Indonesian music industry. I think this step could be a positive new beginning for the indonesian music world," Dian said.

That being said, the partnership with Codapay makes Guvera the only music streaming service provider that implements carrier billing in Indonesia. Other providers such as Deezer, Rdio, and Nokia Mix Radio have yet to introduce this method. This decision is therefore an important step for Guvera to strengthen its business in Indonesia and to support its hopes to get Indonesians to get used to enjoying music legally again.

[translated by Rifki Aria Nugraha and Aulia Masna]