“It is high time that business travellers had an alternative to the ludicrous tariffs that phone networks are happy to charge their customers,” says TextBay Director Alain Bywaters. “Even a short trip abroad can amount to bills of hundreds of pounds that can cripple a small business.”
The SIM cards start from just 24.99 and come with varying amounts of free call time depending on the country in question. Once this is used top-up vouchers can be bought from local stores in the same way as for UK ‘pay-as-you-go’ phones.
Rate savings vary between locations but are always considerable – a ten minute phone call from Spain to the UK costs around 8.50 on any UK network but with a TextBay Spanish Vodafone SIM the charge is just 3.00. Ten texts cost 4.25 on a UK network as opposed to 1.60 with the TextBay SIM. For every ten minutes of incoming calls received, a UK network charges 5 – on the TextBay SIM it is free.
“Buying an international SIM card is a breath of fresh air for the business traveller looking to save money,” adds Bywaters. “The TextBay solution is a single store with cards for over 60 countries. You get your number before you go and start saving the moment you arrive. It is quick, cheap and there are no language barriers.”
Other TextBay products include dual-SIM devices allowing the convenience of two country specific accounts and a Call-Back service that slashes international call rates even further than the SIM cards. There is also a comprehensive customer support number on 0870 600 1362 for after sales service.
Phones must be GSM compatible and unlocked to use the service. Step by step instructions to achieve this are available on the website.