Orange has announced the launch of Orange Top-Up, an online solution that enables people to remotely top-up mobile credit for customers of over 350 operators in the world.
To send mobile credit to a contact, users simply have to enter the mobile number to be credited, select an amount and pay by credit card. A SMS is sent to the user to confirm the transaction and a personal message can be sent to the recipient to let them know their account has been topped-up.
Orange Top-Up is available online in five languages (English, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese) and three currencies (South-African rand, euros and US dolars). The service is designed for those who live far from their families or friends, and provides them with a simple way to send mobile credit from almost anywhere in the world.
This top-up service is aimed in particular at migrant populations or those living abroad who are looking for a simple way to send mobile credit to their friends and families as means to stay in contact or simply as a gift. The site enables users to top-up credit for customers of over 350 operators based in over 100 countries, including 18 countries in which Orange is present.
From launch, Orange Top-Up accepts credit cards from 39 different countries.
South Africa has a high number of immigrants from African and non-African countries, including Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, India and China. These people can take advantage of the Orange Top-Up service when looking for a way to credit friends and family abroad or vice versa, regardless of their mobile network operator.
The prices are transparent: the value of the credit is clearly stated in the currency used to make the payment (euros, dollars or rand) as well as in the receiving country’s currency. The transaction fee for using the service is also clearly indicated on the web site.
The Orange Top-Up service will continue to expand as more and more operators from different countries connect to the service (Orange Botswana will soon be connected for example). Mobile applications through the Android store and iTunes are also planned and should be available by the summer.
In addition, discussions have started with distributors to enable Orange Top-Up to be used on high-street top-up consoles, which would enable cash payments.
