MTN Ghana has introduced an Electronic Voucher Distribution (EVD) Denomination Change to prevent credit transfer agents from charging unapproved fees and enable prepaid customers who purchase airtime via credit transfer to receive the full value purchased.
Hitherto, agents who do electronic credit transfer business for MTN give customers less airtime than they paid for, even though MTN had already paid them a commission on the electronic airtime. So, for instance, if a customer paid GHS2 for airtime, the agent will transfer only GHS1.90 airtime and keep the GHS0.10 illegally.
Some agents argue that MTN give 100% bonus on that credit transfer so even after they steal the 5%, the customer still gets more than they paid for. Many agents caught doing this have either been completely terminated or denied of their commissions.
But the EVD Denomination change will prevent the agents from charging customers for purchasing electronic credit transfer, because the system has now been designed to ensure airtime is transferred in whole numbers and no more fractions.
“Following the implementation of the EVD Denomination Change, credit transfer can only be purchased from 0.5ghc and in multiples of Ghc1 up to Ghc500. The system will not allow retailers to reduce the value of the airtime and charge customers more for it,” a statement from MTN said.
Commenting on the initiative, the Chief Sales and Distribution Officer of MTN Ghana, Shaibu Haruna said, as a customer–centric company, MTN is committed to providing distinct customer experience in every facet of its business, adding that the issue of EVD price disparity has been a challenge and impacted customer experience especially since MTN stopped printing recharge vouchers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have our customers at heart, and we are always working to find innovative solutions that address issues that pose a challenge to them. We strongly believe the introduction of the EVD Denomination Change will prevent over pricing and reduce EVD pricing complaints,” he added.
MTN therefore cautioned vendors against charging extra fees for EVD transactions because their fees are already built into the system. The company then encouraged customers to insist on the amount they pay for, and to report any vendor who does otherwise by calling the toll-free customer service number, 100, or visiting any of the MTN centres.
The statement also said any MTN customer who purchases airtime via EVD enjoys 50% bonus on every recharge which can be used for both On-Net and Off-Net activities.
The Electronic Voucher Distribution (EVD) popularly known as “Credit Transfer” in the Ghanaian market allows customers to top up (recharge) their accounts electronically for voice calls, data bundles or SMS. MTN Customers can visit any EVD vendor (credit transfer agent) to purchase any desired airtime.
