Sending airtime top up to prepaid phones

An airtime top up is a payment made by WorldRemit to send a mobile recharge to a recipient’s pre-paid mobile phone call plan.

What is airtime top up?

When you connect a mobile phone to a telecom network, you need to purchase credit to enable you to use that telco network’s airtime. Airtime allows you to access the network’s service offerings, voice, mobile data, sms etc.

When you add credit to a pre-paid phone, this is known as a ‘Top up’. Topping up a phone will allow continued use of the telco’s service until the credit has run out.

Airtime top ups sent via WorldRemit are usually instant.

The amount of airtime that is useable will vary dependent upon the individual telecom network. For more information on how much airtime a top up will give, please contact your recipient’s provider.

How long does it take for the airtime top up to be received?

Mobile airtime top ups are normally added instantly or within a few minutes.

Very occasionally, there may be small delays due to congestion or outages on the local mobile network.

Where can I send an airtime top up?

Please select the region your recipient lives in to see if airtime top up is an option there.

What happens if I send to an incorrect number?

When sending an airtime top up, you will be asked to enter the recipient’s phone number twice.  This is done to ensure that money is not sent to the wrong person because of a mistyped number.

However, if you enter the wrong number twice, the transfer will go ahead and there is no way to reclaim the airtime top up once it is sent.

It is therefore important that you check the number carefully with your recipient before you send.

Why do some countries / networks deduct tax on airtime top up?

A number of governments around the world have chosen to apply taxes to incoming airtime top ups.

When sending to these countries, some of the airtime value will be deducted locally. This means the recipient will get a lower amount than you sent. Unfortunately this is not something that can be changed by WorldRemit.

If the country you are sending to does deduct taxes, you will be informed as part of the transaction process before completing the transfer.

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