Calling Cards Addon

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Caling cards flowchart.png

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A telephone card, calling card or phone card for short, is a small card, usually resembling a credit card, used to pay for telephone services. Such cards can either employ prepaid credit system or credit card style system of credit. The exact system for payment, and the way in which the card is used to place a telephone call, depend on the overall telecommunication system. Currently, the most common types of telephone cards involve pre-paid credit in which the card is purchased with a specific balance, from which the cost of calls made is deducted. Pre-paid phone cards are disposable. When the balance is exhausted you simply buy a new card. Cards purchased can often be refilled. The other main type of card involves a card with a special PIN printed on it that allows one to charge calls to a land-line telephone account.


Short description

The Calling Card module makes it possible to manage cards printed on plastic/paper or sold over the Internet for international calling.

The calling card platform is dedicated to calling cards, i.e. the plastic/paper cards with a scratch surface that can be sold in shops or in streets. These cards (or their number/PIN) can also be sold over the Internet.

When a user buys a card, he gets the number/PIN of the card. Then he dials an access number and IVR asks him to enter this number/PIN.

The user hears the credit and time remaining and can enter a destination. If the destination is okay, he is connected and can talk. After the call is finished, the call's price is deducted from the card's balance.



Caling cards.png


Differences between Users and Cards in MOR (for A2billing users)

There are two main ways for a person to use the MOR system to dial out:

  1. Using his User account.
  2. Using a Calling Card.

The main difference is that the User account is for permanent users. Calling Cards are used by occasional dialers who use the service from time to time and often anonymously.

Rule about Users and Cards:

Users and cards are not related in any way. This means:

  • A User (as an entity in MOR) can't have Cards.
  • A Card (as an entity in MOR) can't belong to a User.

NOTE: MOR is not A2Billing. So the Calling Cards Addon is ONLY for Calling Cards which are sold over the Internet/in the streets/shops/etc.

System Setup

  1. First, a Card Group should be created with the correct details.
  2. Cards for the Card Group should be generated.
  3. A Calling Card Dial Plan should be created.
  4. A DID should be assigned to this Dial Plan.

All these steps are described in detail below.

Work-Flow

  1. User buys a Calling Card (over the Internet/printed, in a store/street/etc).
  2. User finds the NUMBER and PIN of the Card. It can be on the plastic/paper Card or given to the user in an online Calling Card Store.
  3. User dials an access number, which is given to the user in the same way as the number/PIN. User can dial this number from anywhere in the world.
  4. System asks the user to enter the number and PIN (or only the PIN). When user dials the access number, IVR will ask him to enter card number and/or PIN.
  5. Are the number and/or PIN good? In this step the system checks the database to see whether a Card with the provided number/PIN exists. If the Card is not found, the user is asked to enter new a number/PIN. It is possible to change how many times the system will permit reentry of the number/PIN. The default is three tries.
  6. The system tells the remaining balance on the card. This step is optional and can be disabled.
  7. The system asks for the Destination to be entered. IVR will ask the user to enter the destination he wishes to dial.
  8. The system tells the remaining time. Based on the entered destination and the remaining balance, the system will tell the user the remaining time he can talk with this destination. This step is optional. It is influenced by Ghost Minute Percent.
  9. The system dials the Destination. Using LCR, the system chooses the cheapest provider and dials the entered Destination.
  10. After the call, its cost is deducted from the Card's balance.

More detailed logic is explained here.

PINless dialing

It is possible to enable PINless dialing to the Calling Card Dial Plan:

Pinless option.png

This lets the user enter the Card's number/PIN only once, after which the system remembers the CallerID. Next time, when the system receives a call from same CallerID, it will not ask the user to enter the Card's number/PIN.

If the Card's balance is empty, the user will be asked to enter a new Card number/pin.

PINless functionality is only available for a valid CallerID.

When a CallerID is not empty and is numeric and/or has a '+' sign, then it is valid. If CallerID is invalid (has some non-numeric symbol in it, except '+'), PINless functionality will be disabled.



Can more than one Caller ID use Pinless Calling Card?

Yes, it is possible if option "Deny to double-use a Card with Pinless dialing, when Card is assigned to some CallerID" is disabled in Calling Card Groups settings.

Suppose we have two Caller IDs:

  • CallerID #1
  • CallerID #2

Then:

  1. CallerID #1 dials DID number, MOR asks to enter PIN number.
  2. CallerID #1 enters PIN number 1234. MOR assigns this CallerID #1 to Calling Card with PIN 1234.
  3. If CallerID #1 calls once more, it is not asked to enter a PIN because MOR has assigned it to Calling Card with PIN 1234.
  4. Now CallerID #2 dials DID number, MOR asks to enter PIN number.
  5. CallerID #2 enters PIN number 1234. Now MOR deletes CallerID #1 and assigns CallerID #2 to Calling Card with PIN 1234.
  6. If CallerID #2 calls once more, it is not asked to enter a PIN because MOR has assigned it to Calling Card with PIN 1234.
  7. If CallerID #1 calls once more, it is asked to enter PIN because Calling Card with PIN 1234 was assigned to CallerID #2.
  8. Etc.

Can more than one Calling Card have same CallerID?

No, CallerIDs must be unique even between different Card Groups.


See also

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