Much as a receiver’s name and phone number display well when sending money using Airtel money in Uganda, sometimes you could send a much higher amount than you intended to.

For example, imagine paying for a product that requires you to send money to the seller directly on their mobile? But by mistake, you send a higher amount above the agreed figure. You try calling the seller to refund the balance, only to find their mobile phone is switched off. That’s where reversing the money using Airtel money comes in.

To reverse money sent to a wrong number using Airtel Money, or a high figure sent to the correct number, initiate the reversal on your own as below:

• Open the Airtel money Text SMS that confirms the money you sent.
• Copy the Transaction ID in the message. OR, dial *185*10# and copy the ID from your recent transactions page.
• Dial *185# on your phone’s dial pad.
• Select option 10 (My Account).
• Select option 8 (My Transaction Reversals).
• Choose Option 1 (Initiate Transaction Reversal).
• Select option 1 (Other Send Transactions).
• Enter the Transaction ID you copied from your Airtel money message.
• Confirm the transaction details, sent amount, and receiver number.
• Enter your Airtel Money PIN to confirm the reversal.

Now, unlike MTN where you have to call the customer care line straight away, after initiating a transaction reversal on your phone using Airtel money, call the receiver and tell them to approve your reversal in order to receive the money-back instantly. To approve a reversal if you are the receiver, follow the steps below.

• Dial *185#
• Select option 10 (My Account).
• Choose option 8 (My Transaction Reversals).
• Select option 2 (Approve Transaction Reversal).
• Choose the transaction from the list (option 1) if it’s only 1 person that has started a reversal.
• Enter your Airtel Money PIN to confirm reversal.

However, in cases where you can’t notify the receiver to approve the reversal since only a few can accept to reverse the money back to your Airtel money account. Simply call the Airtel customer care line on *100* and tell the agent to approve your reversal in order to receive the money back.

If the transaction remains unapproved by the recipient or customer care agent after 3 days, your money is automatically reversed to your phone without any action required. However, you will receive your money back if your transaction meets the following requirements:

• The receiver must have not withdrawn the money.
• You must have initiated the transaction reversal as illustrated in the above steps.
• For instant reversals, call the customer care team on *100* to approve the reversal.

In summary, you can reverse money sent to a wrong number using Airtel Money by self-initiating the reversal, then have it approved by a customer care agent or the receiver.

According to MTN Uganda’s general manager mobile financial services, mobile money provides sophisticated and secure payment solutions for educational institutions to collect and manage fees transactions. Also, parents, guardians and students benefit from the convenience of paying their school dues from any location in real-time.

“Our MTN Mobile Money platform is designed in such a way that parents and guardians can pay school fees for their children safely and securely without having to leave their homes, work places or offices. It also limits the exchange of currency notes which elevates our endeavors against the covid-19 pandemic,”

Said Mutana

Although this innovation has been around for a while now, this covid-19 crisis makes it even more useful as it limits human contact which remains key in the fight against covid-19.

Jacinta Mukebezi who has been working from home since last year was impressed at how seamlessly she paid her son’s school fees last week as schools reopened their doors for Primary Four and Five pupils.

“I was worried of having to drive all the way to the bank, queue in the line yet I had a busy week. I simply called the school for my son’s student code and in a matter of minutes, I had paid his school fees without having to leave my house or drive to the bank,” Said Mukebezi

Like Mukebezi, many parents encounter several inconveniences to their schedules while paying school fees for their children. Other parents have to commute miles to the nearest bank, thereby foregoing a great portion of their daily commitments for the day which in turn impacts their income, in addition to the money and time lost in transport to and from the bank.

However, a GSMA study about Mobile Money use in Uganda revealed that Mobile money has the potential to extend the limited nature and reach of the formal financial sector.

Besides helping to organize the hitherto chaotic scene of domestic money transfers, mobile money can improve the national payments system by providing innovative ways to meet the transaction needs of ordinary people

For instance, Emmanuel Mafabi, a tomato farmer in Manafwa district doesn’t have to leave his farm to pay school fees for his four children, but instead relies on mobile money as his go to payment method.

“I pay their fees in small instalments. So if I had to go to the bank, it would mean many days of me not tending to my farm. After selling my tomatoes, I simply deposit the money on my phone and pay school fees,” He says, “Infact during school fees time, I gladly ask my clients to pay me through Mobile Money so that I simply pay school fees without touching the money.”

Catherine Akello who pays school fees for two of her nieces in Lira lauds MTN MoMo school fees platform for making the process easy for her.

“I don’t have to run around looking for bankslips nor do I risk sending money to my alcoholic brother who simply wastes the money. I directly pay to the school and that way, my nieces can attend school,” Akello says

Winnie Nansamba, a school bursar says that this mode of payment is convenient and easy for schools to work with since the notifications are captured online: “It is easier to track payments on this system as opposed to looking through stacks of paper.”

How to pay school fees using MTN Mobile Money

Mutana explains that; to pay school fees, a customer can dial *165*4*3# and selects a payment option. Once dialled, a customer is also prompted to enter the student code, which is provided by the school administration. Upon entering the code, a customer receives a prompt with the student’s name, class, and the amount due.

Once the amount due is received, a customer can then enter the amount they wish to pay and finally a secret mobile money pin to confirm payment. Once payment is received by the school, the customer then receives an SMS showing the amount paid and the balance on their account.

Well, on mobile you can deposit money to a bank account associated with your phone number, and at the same time, you are able to withdraw from the same account directly using Airtel money as your mode of transfer. However, just like any other money transfer platform, each transaction you perform comes with a charge based on the total amount transacted.

In light of the increased adoption of internet and mobile banking by most banks across Uganda, Airtel money is a supported transfer method when using either of the two banking options. However, you can’t directly deposit money to your account from either internet or mobile banking presenting an opportunity for alternate choices like Airtel money.

So, just like MTN mobile money, Airtel money serves as a reliable service that allows you to directly deposit money on your bank account, and here is how you can get started to deposit and withdraw money on your bank account using Airtel money.

How to Deposit money on your bank account using Airtel Money

1. Dial *185#
2. Off menu, choose option 7 (Financial Services)
3. Then select option 1 (Banks)
4. Choose your destination bank
5. If your number is registered for mobile banking with the bank, your active accounts will be displayed
6. Then, select option 1 (Airtel Money to Bank)
7. Then, choose your preferred account to deposit to
8. Once selected, enter amount to deposit from your Airtel money account
9. Finally, enter your account PIN to confirm deposit to the associated bank account
10. DONE: Your money will be deposited to the bank account from your Airtel Money account

How to Withdraw money on your bank account using Airtel Money

1. Dial *185#
2. Off the main options list, choose option 7 (financial services)
3. Then select option 1 (Banks)
4. Then, choose your registered bank
5. Once selected, choose option 2 (bank to Airtel money)
6. If your number is registered for mobile banking, your active accounts will be displayed
7. Choose a bank account to withdraw from
8. Then, enter amount to withdraw from your bank account
9. Finally, enter your PIN to confirm withdraw
10. DONE: Your Airtel money account will be credited with money from your bank account

The Airtel Money Mastercard is designed to offer red camp customers a safe, convenient, and secure platform to transact online. For a customer to create and use a card, no bank account is required, but instead enough account balance when transacting at any online point of sale.

As a safety notch, a customer can always delete a card and create a new one at any point in time. Unlike the MTN Momo Card, no initial card fees are deducted in order to get a new card with a different number, expiry date, and security CVV.

There are two ways to create a free Airtel Mastercard including a USSD Code and the Airtel Money App. Via USSD, a new card can be created by dialing *185*7# to choose option 9 in order to create a new card. On the myAirtel App, a card can be created through the Airtel Money interface tab.

How you Create an Airtel Money MasterCard with a USSD Code

1. From your phone’s dial pad, Dial *185*7#
2. Or Dial *185# (Airtel Money menu) and select option 7 (financial services)
3. Choose option 9 (Airtel Mastercard)
4. Then, select option 1 (Get a card) to create a new card
5. Enter your Airtel Money PIN to confirm the creation of your new Airtel Mastercard
6. Once approved, you’ll receive an SMS message with your card details
7. DONE: Click on the received AirtelMCard SMS link to see your card details

How to Create an Airtel Money Mastercard using the myAirtel App

1. Open the My Airtel App (Download it from the Google & Apple store if not installed)
2. From the My Airtel App, Click the Airtel Money tab and enter your account PIN
3. Once correct, you’ll be redirected to the Airtel Money dashboard
4. Locate your Airtel Wallet balance and click the Mastercard logo (aligned to the right)
5. Enter your Airtel Money PIN, and click proceed to create your new card
6. DONE: Your Airtel Money Mastercard will be displayed in the App with the card number, expiry date, card name, and security CVV code.

In IT security, hacker backdoors are often realized through the interoperability of various systems running different code. In the case of MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money, the ability for customers to make direct bank and cross-network transfers caused a vulnerability.

Reportedly, Pegasus Technologies – a Ugandan IT systems company is one of the authorized MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money API providers that make it possible for customers to transact with specific underlying services including the ability to transact with bank accounts.

Other known authorized Mobile Money API companies in Uganda include Africa is Talking, Beyonic, Yo Uganda, among many others. But in the course of last week, Pegasus Technologies reportedly fell prey of attackers that robbed MTN and Airtel Money funds with Stanbic Bank as their stable link of choice.

How Hackers attacked MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money

With Cybersecurity as a growing concern in the world, backdoors are known to be present in several IT systems including most sophisticated services hosted in secure and well set up data centers.

Through a vulnerable backdoor reportedly discovered at Pegasus Technologies, Hackers got direct access to Mobile Money systems by disguising transactions as valid processes between customers and Stanbic Bank as well as to other telcos (MTN – Airtel and Vice versa).

Notably, Pegasus handles MTN-Airtel and Airtel-MTN as well as other telco to telco mobile money transfer processes. On top of that, the company handles Stanbic Bank’s Flexi Pay service that allows customers to pay for goods and services using mobile money.

So, on Thursday 1st October 2020, Hackers plotted a rogue attack on Pegasus systems and disguised silent transactions as MTN to Airtel, Airtel to MTN, MTN to Stanbic Bank, and Airtel to Stanbic Bank, as well as Stanbic Bank to Mobile money transfers.

Routing safely through Thursday night, to Friday, until Saturday. Within the short timeframe, hackers had reportedly sent themselves over UGX 1.3 Billion, withdrawn over UGX 900 Million on Airtel money, and double the amount through MTN Mobile Money.

“From Thursday night, the hack went on undetected until Saturday. By this time, hackers had sent themselves almost UGX1.3 billion but had managed to withdraw UGX900 million from Airtel Money. We estimate MTN also lost almost twice the same amount of money since they are mobile money leaders. When the fraud was detected all transactions going through Pegasus Technologies, were suspended,”

A Source told the CEO East Africa Magazine

With only IGX 1.3billion earmarked as an estimate, the hackers may have transacted more money to each other within the dark timeframe (Thursday night to Saturday) before being blocked out. So, the figure is estimated to be higher with more billions of shillings expected to be declared as lost.

Why Hackers Targeted MTN, Airtel and Stanbic

• Financial Gain (Theft)
• Utilize the chance of a vulnerable backdoor (failed/corrupt databases)
• Steal customer funds (mobile money and bank balances)
• To bankrupt mobile money service operators and cause insecurity beliefs/alarms.

Apparently, several Ugandan news blogs have attached the recent hacks to the growing political atmosphere in Uganda. However, by pure standards, the hack is not associated with any political movement or pressure resulting into the loss of funds by the trio.

Instead, a group of hackers utilised a backdoor (Pegasus) to gain control over mobile money transactions, and in the end transferred a huge sum of money between owned accounts with only UGX 1.3billion sighted as the leaked amount at the moment.

Hence, the core reason why hackers attacked mobile money systems hosted by MTN, Airtel and further used Stanbic bank as an extra gateway through a 3rd party portal, was to utilise the End of Month window (a peak timeframe for Bank and mobile money transactions) to run rogue code, and sniff targeted brands.

By IT security standards, the vulnerability option may have been located in Pegasus’ systems code. Although IT companies route with closed source code/software not supported with GNU licenses (open source), a vulnerability in code can’t fail to miss in the mix which could be with a missing update or system fault.

While speaking to CEO Magazine, the Pegasus Technologies Managing Director Ronald Azirwe could neither admit that hackers attacked through a backdoor at the company nor deny as he said:

“Sadly I can’t comment on that. I can’t confirm or deny anything of the sort. I can’t speak about it. MTN/Stanbic/Airtel should be able to tell you whether it is Pegasus or not,”

Mr. Ronald Azirwe told a reporter

The MTN, Airtel, and Stanbic Security Response to the Attacks

Through a Joint press release shared with the Tech Point Magazine team, MTN, Airtel, and Stanbic acknowledged the presence of an issue that hit the institutions, but didn’t spread to customer accounts noting that account balances were not affected.

Henceforth, Attackers successfully launched attacks on Thursday night, went successful through Friday, only for their presence to be noticed on Saturday 3rd October.

In a bid to block the attackers activity, MTN and Airtel blocked access to mobile money accounts as a measure to implement a Denial of Service (DOS) status to safeguard customer accounts.

However, this did go well with unsuspecting customers who took waged war on the hosting telcos via Twitter and shared their grievances.

At the moment, Stanbic Bank has also activated a DOS (Denial of Service) mode blocking their *290# mobile banking service until the root cause of the attack is identified, and the backdoor sealed to avoid future incidences.

For now, security authorities are on the hunt for the group of black hat hackers who may have robbed MTN, Airtel, and Stanbic in a period of less than 3-days with rogue transactions performed through a 3rd party provider system.

In a bid to serve subscribers with affordability in-sight, the 4 mobile money services differ by charges, then supported transaction tiers that continue to increase with UGX 7,000,000 as the current high.

Currently, UTL’s Msente and Africell Money have the lowest rates if compared to MTN Momo, Airtel Money. However, this comes at a catch of competitive rates that only differ by a small margin, and here is a breakdown of what’s offered by each service.

MTN Mobile Money Vs Airtel Money Vs Africell Money Vs Msente

By Sending fees, Africell charges UGX 250 for Africell and other network transfers. On the Other hand, MTN Momo has a UGX 50 charge for On-Net transfers, as Other networks route a minimum charge of UGX 300.

For Airtel-Airtel transfers, a UGX 100 charge shines as the minimum rate, then a minimum charge of UGX 980 when sending to other networks. And unlike the trio, UTL’s Msente has a static sending fee of UGX 200 with no support for transfer to other networks.

Sending Fees (Same network Transfers)

Rates for Sending to Other Networks

With the quad set of services leveled to similar sending fees, withdraw charges on the other hand differ by a smaller margin. Comparatively, MTN Momo and Airtel Money tremble in the same league as Msente, Africell Money shine with lower fees.

Withdraw Charges

Utility Payment Rates

Commonly, Utility Payments, PayTV, and Tax clearances are the most used options on all 4 mobile money platforms in Uganda. And so, charges slightly differ per mobile money service, but with smaller margins as compared to competitor services.

For Instance, to buy UMEME Yaka Tokens worth UGX 10,000 you face a 1,000/= charge of MTN and Airtel, but a 500/= or 700/= charge on Msente or Africell Money respectively. Hence, base utility rates only differ by small margins, but matter to the transacting customer.

The Best Mobile Money Service you can Consider in Uganda

To choose the best mobile money service to consider, you must put into consideration several factors aligned to your money transfer behavior.

Among the key factors to consider, ease of access to mobile money agents shines as a top priority. Then, the number of your contacts (you intend to send and receive money from) use specific service. Supported transfer amounts, then, the general charges structure as listed above.

What to consider before using a specific mobile money service in Uganda

• Agents Network (How reachable are the service’s Mobile Money Agents)
• Number of Contacts (friends & family) using the service
• Supported Transfer amounts
• Transaction Rates and Charges
• Service Popularity

Once factored in, you can then choose your Ideal Mobile money service to consider. By charges, a service may have lower rates, but with a low agents network in Uganda.

Hence, if you don’t have a vast network of reachable direct deposit and withdraw points, you can then consider the most accessible service for swift transactions.

By Agents Network, most usability and high transfer amounts, MTN’s Mobile Money service rocks as the best variant to consider against Airtel Money, Africell Money, and UTL Msente. This is due to the fact that you can access the telco’s agents in almost every trading center in Uganda.

Henceforth, amidst the fact that you’d get lower charges on a platform like Msente, getting access to deposits could be hard as compared to MTN Momo or Airtel money which could be your most accessible option. So, depending on your taste and location, you can juggle through available offers for your best choice.

Well, using Airtel Money, you can send money to Airtel numbers, as well as other to networks like MTN and Africell. In a similar fashion, you can withdraw money sent to your account by suffering a small telco charge on top of 0.5% of the total amount mounted as mobile money tax.

On top of that, making payments is a swift process with Airtel Money which can be accessed via *185# or through the My Airtel App. Just like sending and receiving, you face a charge on your payment which could be a Utility, Pay TV, or Business payment.

Well, with the current Airtel Money rates acting constant, and only change based on the business ecosystem. Here are the current Airtel Money Charges you should note.

Airtel Money Sending Rates

Airtel Money Withdraw Rates

Airtel Money Payment Charges

Airtel Money International Sending Rates

Airtel to Bank Account Transfer

In summary, you need to keep note of the current Airtel Money rates before performing any transaction which could be sending money, making a Utility payment to clear your pending NWSC bill, or buying UMEME Yaka Tokens.

Much more like a standard, expect URA (Uganda Revenue Authority) ‘s Mobile Money tax rate of 0.5% to only reflect on your withdraws. For regular Sending and Payments, the tax is not applied, and so, this makes mobile money the best transfer service as compared to Bank transfer.

Editor’s note: We Update the Current Airtel Money rates on a Monthly timeframe. Hence, we strive to make sure that the above changes reflect the current Airtel Money rates.

Through the partnership, over 19million Airtel Customers will be able to swiftly and conveniently receive MoneyGram transfers directly to their accounts.

Given the fact that MoneyGram is a leading remittance provider in Africa leaping in the same competition lane with Western Union, and World Remit, the new partnership with Airtel will shorten the time money sent via MoneyGram is received by the recipient.

MoneyGram International, a global leader in cross-border P2P payments and money transfers, recently announced a new partnership with Airtel Africa PLC, a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services with a presence in 14 countries across Africa.

The partnership enables Airtel Money’s 19 million customers to quickly and conveniently receive MoneyGram transfers directly into their mobile wallets from family and friends around the world.

Once Airtel Money customers receive the funds, they can be accessed immediately and used to pay utility bills, goods and services, transferred to other individuals, or converted to cash at any of Airtel Africa’s exclusive branches, kiosks, and agents. The services will be enabled this year subject to local regulatory approvals.

“This partnership with Airtel will enable millions of consumers instant access to our global platform to receive money from over 200 countries & territories without having to even step outside,” said John Gely, Head of MoneyGram Africa.

How to receive MoneyGram on Airtel Money

At the moment, Airtel has not confirmed how MoneyGram will be linked to Airtel Money. But by the look of things, the service will borrow a Banks withdraw option which allows customers to directly receive money from a Bank account linked to the specific Airtel number.

Additionally, the Financial Services option (option 7 on the Airtel Money menu) holds the telco’s supported services which included MoneyGram as the newest option. Once selected on the list, we expect options to include a valid name, Government ID card, and private transaction ID for a successful MoneyGram transaction.

To Receive Moneygram on Your Airtel Money Account

For now, the Integration of Moneygram to Airtel Money has not been deployed in several countries. But once enabled, you will be able to receive MoneyGram on your Airtel Money Account without lining-up in a Bank.

In summary, COVID19 has forced several in-bank services to go mobile and MoneyGram is one of those great options that have delayed to lash out to the power of Mobile devices. Similarly, Western Union will soon be available for MTN Customers once the group makes their partnership with the Yello service official.

Just like MTN Momo Pay, Airtel Money Pay is free to use and doesn’t carry any Mobile money charges to make payments. However, a customer must have enough money left on his account to make a payment with the service.

To use the service, a customer visits a registered merchant, and buy goods or a service to pay with Airtel Pay by entering the Merchant’s unique code after dialing the *185*9# service code.

However, non-registered merchants can’t receive money with the service, meaning a customer can only pay with cash or the merchant’s available payment methods. Registered merchants can be recognized with their Merchant code displayed at the point of sale.

Paying for Goods with Airtel Money Pay

• Dial *185*9# 
• Or *185#, then Option 9 (Airtel Money Pay)
• Enter Merchant Code to Pay to
• Enter Amount to Pay
• Confirm Payment with Your PIN code
• Done: The Merchant will receive your Payment

With the My Airtel App:

• Open the My Airtel App
• Locate the QR code scanner
• Scan the merchant QR code to receive his payment code
• Enter Amount to Pay
• Then confirm payment with your Airtel Money PIN
• Done: The Merchant will be notified with your Payment

According to the statement, Airtel customers will be able to send money at no cost and transact with Airtel Money pay__ a service similar to MTN Momo Pay__for free.

However, the new Airtel money sending structure will take effect tomorrow (20th March) contrary to MTN’s offer which was ignited earlier today (19th March). This implies that the only major telco left to reveal its Corona virus offer is Africell Uganda.

In the face of unprecedented health risks, the safety and health of Ugandans is of utmost importance to us. Airtel Uganda has moved to support efforts to control the spread of Corona Virus (COVID-19) pandemic by promoting the conversion of physical cash to digital/ electronic transactions. Airtel’s statement read

So, for the next 30 days, Airtel customers will send money from one number to another at a no-cost, and further make payments to merchants cashlessly with the Airtel money pay service

In the light of slashed sending fees, Withdraw charges remain intact which means customers are only able to send money for free, but pay withdraw fees on visiting an Airtel Money agent

This means, the move by Airtel Uganda in reply to MTN’s initial move is to further spread the cashless gospel, and reduce on the number of cash transactions in a bid to trim the spread of Corona Virus in Uganda.