How Pay As You Go Solar Works

Pay as you go exists because of one fact: the households who benefit most from a solar system are the ones least able to pay for it in a single transaction. PAYG turns a purchase into a weekly or monthly payment, and it is also called rent-to-own, because the buyer owns the product once it is paid off.

The Four Steps

1. The customer makes an instalment payment with mobile money or cash.
2. The customer receives a recharge code on their phone by SMS.
3. The customer enters the token on the keypad of the product.
4. The product unlocks and can be used for the corresponding period.

Why a Token and Not a Connection

Nothing at the product end needs a data connection or a SIM. A code typed on a keypad works in a village with one bar of GSM signal and no data at all, and it works when the phone that received the SMS belongs to the neighbour. That robustness is the entire reason the token model won.

What OpenPAYGO Certification Means

OpenPAYGO is an open token standard. Certification means the hardware implements it correctly, so an operator is not locked into one vendor's private token scheme, and a product can be moved between platforms that support the standard.

The Platform Side

Sinoware PAYG systems are supplied on the PaygOps platform. For an operator this means the token generation, the customer records and the payment reconciliation already exist. Building that yourself is a software project with a support burden that outlasts the hardware.

Running Cash and PAYG Together

The SW-HS4-2LI and SW-HS8-4LI are available in PAYG and non-PAYG builds on the same chassis. A distributor selling cash in towns and instalments in villages carries one product, one set of spares and one agent training, rather than two of everything.

What the Systems Carry

FM radio, Bluetooth, headset and music player, laptop charging, DC fan and DC TV load, home lighting for several rooms, and a mobile charger with automatic current detection. Charging is by solar panel or by mains adapter. Protection covers over charge, over discharge, over current and short circuit.

Where PAYG Portfolios Fail

• Unreliable unlocking. One product that will not take a valid token costs an agent a whole village of trust.
• Undersized batteries. A customer paying weekly for a product that dies at 9pm stops paying quickly.
• No cash option. Customers who can pay in full are pushed into a payment plan they do not want.
• Spares nobody stocked. Cables and lamps fail before electronics do, and they need to be in the country.