You don’t have to be stranded or panic the next time you run out of airtime or data. Learn how to borrow credit and data from Vodafone, Glo, MTN and AirtelTigo in Ghana.
Often, you have heard people tell you, ‘talk is cheap’, and you begin to wonder just how much you have spent on voice calls in the last decade. Here in Ghana, talking and just talking is part of our day to day affairs. Every now and then, we have been cut short in the middle of having a conversation on the phone. You can’t complain, you simply find the nearest kiosk, purchase a credit and continue talking from where you left off.
What if your car broke down in the middle of no-where? Your airtime balance is reading GH¢0.0, you have used your last Pesewas to say farewell to the girl you dropped off? This is where you need to borrow airtime.
The ‘borrow credit’ service in Ghana allows you to take a small loan (in form of airtime) from your network providers and pay back later. With this service, you are guaranteed to never be stranded again as long as you have your cell phone and network coverage in your location.
Even though this offer seems irresistible, the down side is that most network providers like MTN and Vodafone takes back their loan instantly on your next recharge – with Airtel and Tigo, you will need to dial a number to pay back your loan.
Borrowing Data from Ghana Network Providers
We spend more time on the internet than off it. Data calls is equally as expensive as its cousin, voice calls. Combining those two variables together means that, like voice calls, you are likely to run out of data in the middle of something very important. The horror!
Or not very horrific. To ensure you are not stranded when you need your data most, your network provider in Ghana allows you to borrow data and pay later. The Borrow Data service allows eligible customers to borrow data on credit when your data bundles are exhausted and have run out of airtime or in case of unsuccessful bundle activation due to low balance.
Of course, there is 10-15 (depending on the service provider) percent interest on your borrowed data fee. Not too bad, especially when you consider your urgent need for data at the moment.
Table of Contents
- Vodafone SOS Credit & Data
- Borrow Credit & Data from MTN Ghana using MTN Xtra Time
- How to Borrow Credit & Data from Glo Ghana
- Borrow Credit & Data from AirtelTigo
- How to Top-up Phone Credit in Ghana
- How to Check your Phone Credit Balance in Ghana
Vodafone SOS Credit & Data
Vodafone is one of the biggest players in the telecommunication industry around the world. They are equally top of the game here in Ghana and offers diverse way to get you out of the horrible situation of running out of credit and data.
When you run out of credit or data on Vodafone Ghana, here are some options you may consider:
- Borrow Airtime using SOS Credit
- Loan Vodafone Internet Data Bundle
- Have a Friend or Family Send you Credit
- Buy Credit from your Vodacash
- Top-up Airtime from the Kiosk
Note: You must be a Vodafone Ghana user for more than 15 days before you can borrow credit or data on Vodafone. A service charge of 10% of the requested credit or data is charged as commission.
Borrow Airtime using SOS Credit
Get credit when you need it the most through Vodafone Ghana SOS Credit. Borrow credit when you have less than GHc 1 and pay back the next time you top up.
It’s simple! Just dial *505# to borrow credit. You can borrow GHc 2, GHc 5, GHc 10 and GHc 15.
You can use your borrowed credit for both calls and data.
How to Loan Data Bundle on Vodafone
Just so, you in the middle of submitting that project and your data runs out. It is the worst feeling ever. Two things. You can either borrow credit from Vodafone Ghana, then purchase your bundles or you can just borrow data directly from the network provider.
To borrow Vodafone data, dial *700#, select a bundle from the data menu option. To check your borrowed data balance, dial *700*2#.
Dial *126# for further information on Vodafone data. If you are a foreign Vodafone subscriber or roaming, dial *151# to access roaming inquiry that you require.
For those who require the broad data bundle, simply dial *900# and purchase the available Vodafone offer.
How to Transfer Credit on Vodafone
Assuming you are travelling with your companion and suddenly ran out airtime or data, you can simply ask your companion to send you credit.
Cedi-Only Transfer
Simply Dial *516*Recipient Number+Amount*Password# to transfer credit from your Vodafone account to another Vodafone subscriber.
Default password is usually 1234, however, it is recommended to change it to something more unique. To change your Vodafone transfer pin, dial *117*1234*New Pin*Repeat New Pin#.
For example, say, you want to transfer a credit worth 30 GHC to your mother and her number is 0525878922. Simply, dial *516*052587892230*1234# then send.
Keep in mind that you can only transfer a minimum of 20GHp and GHc50 being the maximum credit transfer.
Pesewas only credit transfer
For example, is you want to transfer credit worth 50 pesewas to your friend. Her/his number is 0589815087. Dial *51605258999220501234# then send.
How to buy credit from Vodafone Cash
If you want to load your phone with credit from Vodafone cash, it is simple and very fast. Dial *110# and select from the options ‘buy airtime’. Which phone are you using? Choose it. Fill in the amount of credit you need and confirm or decline the process. If you confirm it, enter your secret pin and you get a confirmation message.
Borrow Credit & Data from MTN Ghana using MTN Xtra Time
MTN Xtra Time is a service that allows MTN customers to borrow and use an overdraft amount based on the their spend and the no. of years on MTN. Subscribers can borrow from 0.25p to GH¢2 when they run out of credits. To borrow credit, send Start to 1506 and follow the prompts.
Or dial *506# and reply with the appropriate response to borrow credit and data.
- Select Borrow Credit if you want to borrow airtime or Borrow Data to loan extra data.
- Choose the amount you want to borrow and send.
To check your unpaid overdraft, simply send Status to 1506.
Transfer Credits with MTN Me2U
If you don’t want to borrow from MTN or have an outstanding balance, you may consider asking your friend to transfer credit to you using MTN Me2U service.
MTN Ghana Me2U service allows subscribers to transfer credits to other MTN subscribers. To start using the MTN Me2U service you will need to register and create your personal identification Number (PIN).
To register, send <Register><4 digit pin number> to 1329. Or you could dial *198# and reply with 1 then follow the prompt.
When your Me2U account is setup, you can start transferring credits to your friends and family.
To share credits dial *198# reply with 2 and follow the prompts.
Or just go to messages.
<Type the amount of credit> <Space> <Recipient’s full MTN number> <Space> < Your 4-digit PIN> and send to 1329.
Example:
My phone number is 0245442876 and my friend wants to transfer 10.90 Ghana Pesewas to my account. His Me2U pin is 1234.
- Open your messaging application.
- Type 10.90 0245442876 1234 on the message box.
- Send the message to 1329
The amounts to be transferred should be in increments of 10 Ghana Pesewas.
- The minimum amount is GH¢1.00 and a maximum of GH¢50.
- A maximum of 2 transfers are allowed for every 24 hours.
Using MTN Pay4Me Service
Supposing borrowing airtime is not an option and MTN Me2U is out of reach, your closest option is to use the MTN Pay4Me service.
MTN Pay4Me is a reverse charge call service that allows subscribers who don’t have sufficient airtime to make a voice call to place a collect call to another MTN user.
The customer receiving the call will be notified and given the option to either accept or reject the Pay4Me call.
Should the receiver accept the call, they will be charged 0.10p per minute (on per second billing) on behalf of the caller, regardless of their tariff plan.
Should the receiver not have sufficient airtime to sponsor the call, they will receive an SMS notification about the missed Pay4Me call.
Pay4Me launched on Friday, 24 October 2014, and is available to all its customers, MTN said.
To place an MTN Pay4Me call, subscribers need to dial 154, then input the number they wish to call and press the call button. E.g., 1540245442876
Alternatively, they can dial *154*<number to dial>#.
Example, *154*0245442876#
Subscribers who find themselves sponsoring calls regularly may also configure their Pay4Me settings to automatically accept calls from certain numbers by using the *154# USSD menu.
MTN said that this lets customers add the cell phone numbers of people who they want to accept Pay4Me calls from, such as children and household staff.
“This functionality saves time for the customer as the sponsor does not have to approve a Pay4Me request every time the frequent users of the service calls them,” said Larry Annetts, chief marketing officer for MTN South Africa.
Buy Credit and Data from MTN MobileMoney
MTN Mobile Money or simply MTN MoMo allows MTN Ghana subscribers to top-up their airtime or buy data bundle directly from their MTN Mobile Money wallet.
To buy airtime or data from your MTN MoMo wallet, simply dial *170#, choose Airtime and Bundles from the USSD menu.
How to Borrow Credit & Data from Glo Ghana
Glo Ghana ‘Borrow Me Credit’ and ‘Borrow Me Data’ services allows subscribers within a specific time-frame on the network to borrow credit and data respectively, based on their recharge history.
How it works
Glo Borrow Me Credit and Borrow Me Data services are available only to eligible customers. The eligibility criteria include:
- Your SIM must be registered.
- You must have been active on the network for at least 3 months.
- The customer is deducted the loaned amount, in part or in full depending on the amount topped up on the next top-up(s).
- A transaction fee of 15% will apply on the borrowed credit or data.
To borrow credit or data on the Glo Ghana network, simply dial *5321# and select Borrow Credit. Select the amount you want to borrow and send.
Borrow Me Data (BMD) Packages
There are 5 data packages for the Borrow Me Data offering.
| Price (GHc) | Data Volume for Borrow Me Data (MB) | Validity (Days) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 50 | 1 |
| 2 | 100 | 5 |
| 3 | 200 | 7 |
| 4 | 250 | 15 |
| 5 | 400 | 30 |
Glo Borrow Me Data (BMD) Criteria
What is the eligibility criterion to borrow data on Glo Ghana? See table below:
| Credit/Data | No. of months on Network | Frequency of recharge in a month | ARPU |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/50MB | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2/100MB | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 3/200MB | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 4/250MB | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| 5/400MB | 3 | 3 | 15 |
Borrow Credit from AirtelTigo
Launched in November 2017, from a merger between erstwhile Airtel and Tigo, AirtelTigo is the second-largest Mobile Network Operator in Ghana. The telecommunication company is equally helpful in terms of lending airtime and data to its subscribers.
To request for advance airtime and data on AirtelTigo, dial *588# and *589# respectively. A service fee will also be charged on the amount you borrow. You can track your usage of the borrowed credits by dialing *130*10#.
You can also call 188 and follow the voice prompt to receive airtime to pay later upon recharge. Remember you need to pay for your previous loan before requesting a new one!
How to Top-up Phone Credit in Ghana
If you are new in Ghana or made a switch to a new network provider, you are probably searching for how to recharge credit on your SIM. It’s quite simple, dial *134*PIN# and send. This is the same for any network in Ghana.
How to Check your Phone Credit Balance in Ghana
There so many reasons why you need to check you credit balance, maybe you want to make a call and you want to know if the credit is sufficient for the call or you want to purchase bundles for browsing.
To check your account balance, dial *124# and an instance feedback will be given. This is consistent across all networks in Ghana.
