At Whatphone, we’re all about contracts. We believe the free device thrown in is worth the contract constraint. But postpaid ( contract ) handsets aren’t right for everyone : Why purchase a prepaid Smartphone phone?
Are your mobile phone bills keeping you poor? One of the most popular reasons for choosing a prepaid phone is the control over the amount of spending on calls that they give users. Prepaid phone accounts function as a pay-as-you-go service and so like with a piggy bank, when you get to the bottom, there isn’t any more credit. When you have available credit you can use your phone, but if you run out of credit then you will need to purchase more before you can use your phone again. Luckily there are exceptions to this rule as some providers allow prepaid customers to go slightly over their limit, and when they next re-charge this amount is deducted from their account.
Parents often give prepaid phones to school children. On top of the most obvious reason of kids racking up gigantic phone bills, if the phone is lost or stolen, the credit is limited, and also the phones sold for prepaid use are generally of lower value.
These same reasons can also suit older phone users who aren’t interested in the latest features offered by smartphones, and these cheaper phones are often light, compact, easy to use and have great battery life. So in effect, all these reasons make a prepaid phone a great option for anybody who needs to curtail their spending.
Travellers often prefer prepaid phones. Taking out a post-paid mobile account can be challenging when you are away from home because it usually requires that you provide details like permanent address and phone number. This might require paper work that you don’t usually carry with you. The quicker and easier signup process and generally lower cost of prepaid handsets can make them the preferred option.
Prepaid phones sometimes do not provide access to all of the services offered under a post-paid plan, but in the opinion of WhatPhone, they are and will remain popular because of their convenience and budgeting safety net.