Airtel Nigeria expands intl airtime top-up services
With the strategic partnership, Nigerians and others who reside in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, the Middle East, Spain, Italy, Germany, South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Canada and Sweden and more can now transfer airtime or recharge the Airtel lines of family and friends in Nigeria with ease. They can also recharge their lines while roaming in any of the designated country.
The deal with the three micropayment companies, Ezetop, Transfer-To and Prepay Nation, will help to ensure Airtel airtime is available for retail purchase at designated locations abroad.
The top-up service can be accessed globally through Airtel Nigeria and partners' websites: www.ng.airtel.com, www.ezetop.com, www.transferto.com and www.prepaynation.com. To buy airtime, users are required to register on any of the websites, enter in the Airtel line to be topped up and then supply their credit card details and click on the submit button.
Where to get it...
Those in the US, who opt to send Airtel airtime to people in Nigeria using Transfer-To channel platform, can do so through the PayPal retail shop. For those in the UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Canada and Sweden, Transfer-To's retail store to use is UKash.
Prepay Nation covers residents in the UK and the US through its retail partner, Boss Revolution. For the Ezetop transfer platform, the various retail partners for the designated countries are as follow: Blackstone and Coinstar for those in the US; Payzone and Paypoint for residents of the UK; Disa and Recarga for Spain; Bifcard and Multimediapoint for Italy; and Touch for those in Australia and New Zealand. People in Qatar, United Arab Emirate (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, can visit and Ezedealer network stores.
Commitment to customers
Chief operating officer of Airtel Nigeria, Deepak Srivastava said "We are constantly seeking ways to use mobile technology to help our customers to improve their quality of life. Airtel International mobile top-up service will enable numerous Nigerians and others living in different European countries and North America as well as Australia, New Zealand, and the Middle East to purchase mobile airtime for their friends, family members, and associates in Nigeria. It will also, help our customers particularly, pre-paid customers who are roaming to stay connected and never run out of airtime.
"We have chosen the three micropayment companies as partners because of their proven expertise and capability. With this partnership, we are able to offer service to our customers particularly those who rely on family and friends abroad for additional financial support. We will continue to develop the potential that mobile technology gives us to improve the quality and range of services we offer to our customers", he said.
Chief operating officer of ezetop, David Shackleton said: "We are delighted to extend our relationship to Airtel Nigeria, a leading mobile operator in Nigeria. I know our team working in the diaspora communities around the world are pleased to increase the support to the international Nigerian community in helping families stay in touch".
Eric Barbier, TransferTo CEO, said he "strongly believes that enabling Airtime Remittance services to Airtel customers will greatly benefit both Nigerians living abroad and their loved ones in Nigeria."
"We are happy to join forces with Airtel Nigeria," said Sarah Feidt, head of marketing at Prepay Nation. "Our services bring great value to mobile customers, and Airtel Nigeria is exactly the kind of operator whose dedication to their customer base makes us a natural fit. We're also pleased to serve the Nigerian diaspora, which remits large sum of money annually; being able to send small amounts to their loved ones instantly in the form of airtime minutes will no doubt be extremely valuable to this supportive demographic."
International airtime top up service helps to ease the burden of a high number of Nigerian nationals who live, work, and travel abroad and seek to support their relatives in the form of remittances as a way of contributing to their welfare and the development of their nation.
Easy to use
Mobile Top-up is easy to use. Usually all that is required is the name of the mobile operator, the receiver's mobile number and the amount the buyer would like to apply to the account. The retail agent accepts the payment and enters the information on a physical or virtual terminal interface. The receiving party usually gets an SMS text message on their mobile phone stating the amount their account has been topped-up in their local currency.
