Mobile minutes kiosk could push prepaid cellular

At the Wincor World trade show in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany, Kiosk Marketplace got a demo of a mobile phone top-up kiosk that could offer more people a reason to break free from the confines of lengthy subsidized mobile contracts.

In the U.S., mobile phone users historically have tied themselves to traditional contract-based service providers. But these figures are changing according to recent data from the NPD Group, which points to a growing prepaid trend similar to the already booming business in other parts of the world.

Compared to the same quarter last year, pre-paid smartphone sales nearly doubled with growth of 91 percent. And while better prepaid plans have gotten a boost from better phone choices — Virgin Mobile and Leap's Cricket brand now offer the iPhone — self-service kiosks that offer convenience in adding minutes to those plans could push the trend further along.

NEWVISION's Antonio Pedroso, the company's marketing and sales director, discussed the mobile top-up and bill-payment self-service kiosk he showcased at the fair. Pedroso explained that the small-footprint machine is an attractive prospect for retailers looking to offer additional services to in-store customers.

"Using the space that is available it is a good chance for retailers to touch more customers," he said, "and to put the way to top-up and pay the bills in a much easier way."

Pedroso explained that the machine accepts payments with cash or card. Even though top-up is the most common function of the kiosk, it allows users to pay traditional mobile contract bills as well.

Watch the video below to get a closer look at NEWVISION's kiosk and the full interview with Pedroso: