These online and telephonic transactions have been made possible through a partnership between Cointel and Telkom. For the six-month period ending 30 September, Telkom reported a 9,7% growth in its PrepaidFone market, which rose from 808 000 users to 886 000.

"The PrepaidFone market is growing, and Telkom will continue to look for new and innovative ways to make using the phone easier and more convenient," says Thami Magazi, Telkom's managing executive of consumer markets. "There will be no extra charge for these services, just a registration process," he adds.

Magazi says that, in order to utilise a Telkom PrepaidFone account, users need to register, by providing their personal information as well their debit or credit card account details.

All charges are billed directly to this account and securely collected through the use of Cointel's SimTransact technology, called Simplus.

"Users' personal data and debit or credit card information are stored securely and will only be charged for recharge requests. Recharges can only be made by the user or a person authorised by the user," says Gavin Krugel, chief e-Business Officer at Cointel.