Zain subscribers to receive airtime from Diaspora

By Macharia Kamau

Mobile subscribers in Kenya can now bank on family and friends living abroad to directly top up their phones with airtime.

This follows the launch of an international mobile airtime top up service by Zain that will allow Kenyans in 16 countries in Europe and North America, including the US and UK, to send airtime to subscribers on the operator’s network in Kenya.

Managing Director Rene Meza said the service is currently live to Kenya and plans are underway to roll it out in Uganda and Tanzania as well as other markets in the coming months.

"Zain operates in many prime remittance corridors where people living in rural areas rely on additional financial support from the diaspora," he said.

The service is available on the operator’s website and users will be able to send defined airtime values ranging from Sh1,500 and Sh3, 500. Top up will be through credit cards, transactions done in local currency and there will be no other transaction charges.

Partnership

"Only the airtime top up amount will be deducted from the sender’s credit card," said Meza.

Zain will offer the airtime top up service in partnership with Mi-Pay, a mobile money solutions firm, and top up will be through credit cards registered in the 16 countries.

Meza said the firm would market the service online on popular websites among Kenyans living abroad, including Facebook and Kenyan media outlets with online presence.

The move comes months after the two leading operators, Safaricom and Zain, launched services that would allow the diaspora send funds home.