MTN Nigeria switches on online banking top-ups

Nigeria’s biggest mobile operator MTN has partnered with banks in the country to enable customers to top up airtime on their phones via their bank accounts.

The service has been dubbed ‘MTN Auto Top-Up’.Larry Annetts, chief marketing officer, MTN Nigeria, further explained that the new service enables subscribers to recharge their mobile accounts or pay their bills from available deposits in their bank accounts with ‘ease and convenience’.“Our objective is to deliver better value to our customers than anyone else,” said Annetts.“The innovative offering is consistent with keeping our customers in tune with tools that enhance their productivity. This service brings a new level of convenience to our esteemed customers as it is designed todeliver speed and simplicity,” he said.Echoing same sentiments is the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) executive director, Christabel Onyejekwe, who said the service is planned to give MTN’s subscribers an easy way to recharge.“The service leverages NIBSS inter operational capabilities to ensure smooth and seamless payment from subscribers’ account in any Nigerian bank with no payment card required,” Onyejekwe said.She said that to make use of the service, MTN subscribers need to log on to their bank internet platforms and perform a one-off recharge of their airtime or set up a recurring standing order mandate for airtime top-up on any date of their choice.Whatever option chosen, the equivalent amount of money is debited from the deposit account and the airtime value is credited to the phone.