MTN relaunches VTU with 5% promo

MTN Nigeria has relaunched its Virtual Top-Up (VTU) at the weekend in Lagos, with a five per cent promo to last for three months.

General Manager, Consumer Sales, Mr. Richard Iweanoge, who disclosed this, noted that in 2004, MTN was the first to launch VTU into the Nigerian telecommunications market, which he described as a way of topping up credit on a mobile phone without scratching cards or entering *555*1#.

He also said that in 2007, MTN took VTU further up the ladder by making it open for all subscribers on its network including post and pre-paid users.

This, he said, enabled most subscribers to pay their usage bills like water rate and NEPA bills. While in 2008, Iweanoge, MTN went into alliance with Interswitch to avail customers to top-up via the Automated Teller Machines (ATM).

He pointed out that since May 3, subscribers on MTN who recharge through the VTU would get 5 per cent extra on any denomination recharged from N50 and above.

The trade partners of MTN cutting across key distributors, sub-distributors and resellers have extra bonus awaiting them, which mostly depends on the volume of VTU airtime disposed through their trade networks.

Iweanoge explained that one of the key advantages of being a VTU dealer is that even if the mobile phone being used for VTU is stolen, the value of VTU would remain intact due to some security features imbedded on it.

“If you have N1m and your phone get stolen, your airtime remain intact,” he assured, stressing that if such a phone is stolen, all the subscriber need to do is to approach any of the MTN Friendship Centre and do a welcome back.

Also speaking, Channel Manager, MTN Nigeria, Mr. John Anyafulu, said that there is no limited to the amount to be sent or transferred via VTU beginning with N50.

“There is a transfer and vending accounts in every VTU phone,” he said.

Anyafulu listed some of the benefits of MTN’s VTU to include creating efficiency in airtime distribution and ventory, purchase value not denominations, control and tie in distribution network as well as possibility for web interface.

Equally speaking, Senior Manager, Sales Channels for MTN, Mr. Gbenga Olalandu, assured of media campaign to further drum the message home.

According to him, with the latest VTU, MTN Nigeria has improved the stage for delivery of its VTU messages to customers with full details and Short Messaging Service (SMS) platform, especially using the USSD.

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