Here it goes an awkward scenario: Weekend. It’s raining cats and dogs outside and you’re comfortably wrapped in your favorite blanket, lying on your couch with your cat and zapping on TV. Life is beautiful… till your mom calls you and says in a hurry you should call her back because she’s out of mobile credit. She doesn’t know you’re out of mobile credit too (you forgot the payment due date for your usual pack).

What to do? Top up your mobile phone, of course. Or hers (even if she’s in another country…). It’s your mom! Then again, little detail: you’re out of traditional money or, simply, you don’t want to catch pneumonia out there.  So… what to do!?

Top up your mobile phone with your cryptocurrencies is the answer. You still have Internet, after all, and you don’t even need to move from your comfy couch. And hey, you can recharge the two numbers, no matter the country! In just a few minutes, you’ll know what your mom (dad, sibling, friend, girlfriend, boss…) needs to inform you and come back to the important task on your TV.  

Let’s figure out how’s that.


1. Choose a service that fits you

You can find several services for this purpose on the Internet. As you can imagine, not each of them will suit your needs. The countries, mobile operators, available cryptocurrencies, commissions, limits, and even the reputation vary a lot among them.

Terms and conditions are different too, so, don’t forget to read them before the first time you use their service. There may be some “fine print” that will give you a nasty surprise later. If you want to reclaim your rights, inform yourself beforehand what rights those are.

And, of course, check the main items: is your country and mobile operator available? Do you own some of the cryptocurrencies they ask for? How much do you plan to recharge; will they let you? How much are they going to take as a commission? Do they have good or bad reviews outside their webpage?

2. Go to the main page or open the app

Some of these services are simple webpages or mobile apps instead. So, if you don’t have a smartphone, you’ll probably prefer the first ones. Or if you don’t wanna fill your phone with another app. But the point here is: you should open the service (webpage or app). Come on.

Now, some of them will ask you to register before using the service, and some others won’t. In the middle, others let you choose about it, but in almost every case you should give them your email to confirm the recharge or to receive the code needed for the top-up if your operator works in that way.

3. Select your country (or their country)

You can always recharge your phone or the phone of your loved ones because these platforms support numerous countries. On our webpage Alfatop, by example, we have 188 available. You can be in London and top up a mobile phone in Singapore if you want.

However, what about those… “problematic” jurisdictions? The countries that are usually excluded from common international services for one or other reasons, like Syria, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Cuba, or Venezuela. Are they available anyway? Well, as we said before, you should check beforehand. But don’t worry, they usually are available, indeed.

That’s because these services don’t use to work directly with the mobile operators, but with authorized third parties. Like a supermarket or the ma’am on the corner close to your house. The online service pays to them, and they pay to your phone. And everyone can stay safely at home in the middle of a pandemic, by example.

4. Insert the phone’s number and amount

Do we need to explain this? Some services ask you first for the payment, but these data are mandatory, my friend. The phone number can be written without the area code because it’s supposed you chose the country in the first place, and the amount you want to recharge… well, that one actually could vary, and not just for the preferred currency.

Some services offer you fixed packs you can’t change, just choose. They can start with cheap amounts, but perhaps they won’t. Other services, instead, let you write by yourself the quantity (like Alfatop, yes), even if it’s low or high for the standards. Nevertheless, they have minimum and maximum limits, don’t forget to check that.   

5. Choose wisely the cryptocurrency for the payment

Let’s say the service you chose before has only Bitcoin (BTC) as a payment method. But… there’s blockchain congestion at that moment, and the miner’s commissions are very high. Your little top-up probably will be highly expensive in those circumstances. Wouldn’t be better to use another cryptocurrency and, for the extension, another service?

You should pay attention to the current situations and events inside the world of your favorite cryptocurrencies. Maybe it’s a good time to hold on for dear life (hodl), or maybe is a great time to go shopping and top up several phones. Who knows?

Regarding these services, the amount will appear in your own national currency and the equivalent in your cryptoasset. They also can show you the commission taken, and always a clear total you must send to the indicated wallet.

6. Do that call! We want to know what your mom wanted!

After some minutes, your top-up (or top-ups) must be more than ready. Time to call your mom, for God’s sake! Probably she just wanted more credit on her phone to call her friends, but still.


Wanna trade BTC, ETH, and other tokens? You can do it safely on Alfacash! And don’t forget we’re talking about this and a lot of other things on our social media.

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Author

I'm a literature professional in the crypto world since 2016. It doesn't sound very compatible, but I've been learning and teaching about blockchain and cryptos for international portals since then. After hundreds of articles and diverse content about the topic, now you can find me here on Alfacash, working for more decentralization.

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