 |
Adding money can be easy and fun if you know how!
Are you frustrated with
figuring out all of the different ways of
adding money to
your prepaid account? What’s the difference between
the
options? Which one(s) are better? There are a
number of
different ways in the marketplace, and it can get extremely
confusing! Sometimes dealers and retailers themselves get
confused. So if you’re confused and frustrated,
don’t
be too hard on yourself. You’re not alone!
This is a symptom of a fast growing industry that has introduced many
new ways of adding money to make it easier for customers and
distributors.
Although the spirit of making adding money easier is a good one,
companies have unintentionally confused both partners and customers.
The good news is that once you figure out what options are offered by
your carrier, and the benefits of each, it’s likely that
you’ll be able to find the method that best fits your needs
and
lifestyle.
I like to divide things into two general categories:
1.
Cash Payments
- These are products that you
purchase in a
retail store (ex. Wal-Mart, BestBuy, Target, etc.) or wireless
distributor. Although you may end up paying for them using
cash,
debit card, credit card, or personal check according to your needs and
what the retailer accepts, think of these as in-store
products.
It might sound strange to refer to these as cash payments when other,
non-cash transactions can occur. This language is common
simply
because most people who purchase these products do so with cash.
-
The most common products in
this category include:
o Prepaid
Wireless Cards
o PINs
o Topup/Real
Time Replenishment
2.
Direct Payments
- Direct payments are also often
referred to as
virtual payments or direct replenishment. This is for
customers
who have a credit card, debit card, or bank account, and add money to
their account without going to a physical store.
It’s
called “direct” because it’s you, the
customer, going
directly to your wireless provider (i.e. carrier) to pay them
directly. You’re basically bypassing the middleman,
the
retailer or wireless distributor. This can have benefits to
both
you and the carrier, but can cause problems with distributors; more on
that later.
-
The most common products in
this category include:
o Credit
Cards
o Debit
Cards
o Prepaid
Debit Cards
o Bank
Account
- Learn about how to use these direct payment
methods to setup autopay.
Return from Adding Money to Prepaid Wireless

|
|