Prepaid Cell Phone Service Purchase:

What is the cell phone direct prepaid purchase service?

This service is available to cardholders who are 18 or older. With the cell phone direct prepaid purchase service you are able to pay in US dollars for a prepaid cellphone service without having to purchase buckets of minutes from a phone store. The prepaid cell phone can be yours or a third party's such as family and friends abroad. You just need to provide the prepaid cell phone number you wish to purchase service for and select the amount you are willing to devote to the purchase in US dollars. The cell phone account can be yours or a friend's as long as:

  • It's a prepaid cell phone, i.e. not a postpaid phone where the phone operator sends a bill to be paid at the end of a usage period.
  • It's a phone with one of the participating carriers.

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How much does the cell phone direct purchase service cost?

The cell phone service is free for all UPside cardholders, meaning that we do not take a fee out of the amount of US dollars you send for the cell phone service. We do not buy bulks of minutes and mark them up: we simply transfer your payment in US dollars. Click here for a full Terms & Conditions.

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In which countries can I do a direct prepaid cell phone service purchase?

You can do a direct purchase of to prepaid cell phone service in the following countries:

BangladeshDominican RepublicJordanNepalSenegal
BrazilEgyptKazakhstanPakistanSri Lanka
CameroonFijiLaosPeruTurkey
ChinaHaitiMalaysiaPhilippinesUSA
ColombiaIndiaMaliPolandVenezuela
CubaIndonesiaMexicoRussiaVietnam

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How do I make a direct prepaid cell phone service purchase?

You make a service purchase directly from the Cell Phone Service window on your UPside online card account. You will need the prepaid cell phone number, and the amount in US dollars that you intend to devote to the purchase (not more than your UPside card account balance). When logged in, just provide the prepaid cell phone number you wish to purchase service for and select the purchase amount in US dollars. The cell phone account can be yours or a friend's as long as:

  • It's a prepaid cell phone, i.e. not a postpaid phone where the phone operator sends a bill to be paid at the end of a usage period.
  • It's a phone an account with one of participating carriers.

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How long does it take for a direct prepaid cell phone service purchase to be effective?

The purchase of service is done in real-time and should not take longer than a few seconds to be effective on the recipient's prepaid phone.

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How will the recipient know I've made a cell phone service purchase?

The owner of the cellphone will receive a text message informing him/her of the purchase. You can also use the message field to send a free short message to the recipient.

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