Help guide
Delivery times, delays and recharges that never arrive
How long a recharge normally takes, what can delay it, how to check whether the airtime was credited and what to do when the recipient says nothing arrived.
Almost every recharge is credited within seconds, but when one takes longer the system keeps a trace of each step. This guide explains what each status means, how long is reasonable to wait and how a missing delivery is resolved.
How long a recharge takes
The normal case is instant delivery: the operator credits the airtime in seconds and the recipient gets the operator's own notification. At that moment the operation is marked as delivered in My transactions.
Delays almost always happen on the destination operator's side, not on the payment. At peak hours, during mass promotions or when the country's network has incidents, the crediting queue grows and delivery can take a few minutes.
What each status means
Every send moves through statuses you can follow in My transactions. Knowing which one it is in tells you who holds the operation at that moment and whether there is anything you can do.
- Payment approved: the charge went through and the order is on its way to the operator.
- In progress: the operator received the order and is crediting the airtime.
- Delivered: the operator confirmed the credit on the line.
- Under review: the payment is held by a security check and delivery is waiting.
- Failed: the operator rejected the order and the payment is returned.
How to check whether the airtime arrived
Before claiming, rule out the most common case: the airtime is credited but the recipient has not seen it. The operator's SMS can be delayed or lost, and in some countries promotional balance appears in a counter separate from the main one.
Ask the recipient to check the balance with their operator's USSD code instead of trusting the last SMS received. If the recharge was data or a bundle, what changes is the data allowance, not the balance in currency.
- Check the balance with the operator's USSD code, not by SMS.
- Look at the data counter if the product was a package or a bundle.
- Confirm the recharged number is the one you expected, digit by digit.
- Wait a few minutes if the operation still shows as in progress.
If the recharge does not show up
If more than an hour has passed and the operation is still not credited, write to us with the receipt reference. With it we check the real status with the operator and find out whether the order was delivered, queued or rejected.
When the operator confirms delivery was not completed, the payment is returned through the same method. When it confirms the credit did happen, we give you the crediting detail so the recipient can raise it with their operator with that evidence.
What to do when it does not arrive
In this order, because each step rules out a different cause.
- 1Confirm the number rechargedOpen the operation in My transactions and compare the number digit by digit with the one that was meant to receive it.
- 2Check the statusIf it shows as in progress, the order sits with the operator. If it shows as under review, the payment is awaiting verification.
- 3Ask for a balance checkHave the recipient check with their operator's USSD code, not with the last SMS they received.
- 4Wait a reasonable marginOne hour comfortably covers the usual network delays at peak hours.
- 5Write to us with the referenceWith the receipt reference we check delivery with the operator and tell you exactly what happened.
Details that speed up the review
Including these in your first message saves a round of questions.
- Reference from the operation receipt.
- Full destination number, with country code.
- Approximate date and time of the send.
- Which product was sent: airtime, data or bundle.
- What the recipient sees when checking their balance.
Questions about delivery
How long should I wait before claiming?
One hour is a reasonable margin. It covers the operator's usual peak-hour delays and avoids claiming a recharge that lands while you are writing.
The operation shows as delivered but there is no airtime, what happened?
It means the operator confirmed the credit. Most often the airtime sits in a different counter (promotional or data) or was consumed by the line's own automatic charges. Write to us with the reference and we will give you the crediting detail to raise with the operator.
What happens if the recharge fails?
If the operator rejects the order, delivery is not completed and the payment is returned through the same method. How long it takes to appear depends on your bank or the processor.
Can I change the number once the recharge is sent?
Not once the order has gone out to the operator. If you have just paid and delivery has not completed yet, write to us immediately: in some cases it can still be stopped.
Do data and bundles take as long as airtime?
Yes, the process is identical. The difference is where it shows: a data package does not change the balance in currency, it changes the data allowance on the line.
Why did my recharge end up under review?
Because the payment triggered a security check. Delivery waits for the review to finish, and goes out immediately once it is approved. That is what prevents delivering a recharge paid with a stolen card.
Check the status of your send
My transactions shows the real status of each recharge and the reference support needs.