Mobile Short Codes And Their Benefits To Modern Businesses
Short codes are specialised 5 to 6 digit telephone numbers that are used to navigate SMS (short messaging service) and MMS (multimedia messaging system) of mobile network operators. They are marketing tools used by network providers, businesses and individuals to spread information about their products and services. Short codes are mobile shortcuts. They are often associated with automated services. An automated program can handle the response and typically requires the sender to start the message with a command word. The service then responds to the command appropriately.
In most cases, mobile short codes are used by businesses to send or receive one-way communications (marketing messages, two-factor authentication and alerts) to reach a high volume of customers. Businesses also let their customers use short codes for password resets, order confirmations and tracking information.
When it comes to conducting transactions, short codes are very beneficial to businesses as well as the general public. For businesses, short codes help to:
– Increase customer engagement
– Inspire consumer confidence in products and services
– Create easier connections with customers
– Facilitate mobile-friendly marketing
– Send messages to customers at a high volume.
For consumers, mobile short codes are essential for modern-day business transactions because:
– They are easy to remember
– They help to secure customer information
– They make payments and subscriptions a lot easier.
– They save time.
How Paga Uses Short Codes To Ease The Process Of Money Transfers And Online Payments
With the expansion of modern technology, a number of Nigerian businesses have succeeded in making optimum use of short codes to meet the needs of their customers. For instance, Paga, a payment solution that has distinguished itself as Nigeria’s leading online payment app, makes life easy for its users by allowing them send money FOR FREE to anyone with a phone number or email address. The platform also allows you to request money from anyone, as long as you have their number and phone address.
Paga is the fastest way to make online payment and process money transfers. It is a lot easier to top up your prepaid and postpaid airtime across all mobile networks, including MTN, Glo, Airtel and 9mobile. With Paga, you don’t need mobile data to make payments; all you have to do is dial *242# to pay via USSD. There are no transfer fees or hidden charges attached to your transactions.
You can get instant and secure money transfers from abroad to any Nigerian mobile phone or bank account. To do this, provide the sender with your valid mobile phone number or bank details. Request that your sender go to any of Paga’s international remittance partner’s outlets and select Paga to send the funds. You will instantly receive funds in your Paga account.
Banking Short Codes In Nigeria
Nigerian banks have also mastered the use of short codes to enable their customers make money transfers and process other financial transactions. Here is a list of banking short codes in Nigeria:
| S/No. | Nigerian Bank | Short Code |
| 1. | Access Bank | *901# |
| 2. | Ecobank | *326# |
| 3. | Fidelity Bank | *770# |
| 4. | First Bank of Nigeria | *894# |
| 5. | First City Monument Bank | *389*214# |
| 6. | Guaranty Trust Bank | *737# |
| 7. | Heritage Bank | *322*00# |
| 8. | Jaiz Bank | *389*301# |
| 9. | Keystone Bank | *7111# |
| 10. | Polaris Bank | *833# |
| 11. | Stanbic IBTC | *909# |
| 12. | Standard Chartered | *977# |
| 13. | Sterling Bank | *822# |
| 14. | Titan Trust Bank | *922# |
| 15. | United Bank for Africa | *919# |
| 16. | Union Bank | *826# |
| 17. | Unity Bank | *7799# |
| 18. | Wema Bank | *945# |
| 19. | Zenith Bank | *966# |
Short Codes For Mobile Network Providers In Nigeria
Before banks jumped on the train, mobile network providers have been making use of short codes to engage with their subscribers and maintain access to products and services. Here are a list of quick codes for various mobile networks in Nigeria:
Airtel
Customer Care Number – 121
Check Airtime Balance – *123#
Check Offers – *121#
Know your own Airtel number – *282#
Recharge Airtime – *126*(pin)#
9Mobile
Check Airtime Balance – *232#
Recharge Airtime – *222*(pin)#
Buy Mobile Data – *917#
Check Data Balance – *228#
Glo
Airtime Balance – #124#
Recharge Airtime – *123*(pin)#
Glo Simple Recharge – *805#
Check Glo Number – *135*8#
Borrow Data and Call Credit – *321#
Buy Glo Data – *777#
Check Data Balance – *127*0#
MTN
Check Balance – *556#
Recharge Airtime – *555*(pin)#
Check MTN mobile number – *156#
Call Centre – 180
Borrow Airtime – *506#
Check 4G Device Compatibility – *585#
Check Data Usage – *545#
Other useful short codes that can be accessed by Nigerians include:
National Identification Number (NIN) Retrieval – *346#
Access BVN – *565*0#
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