How to Send Bulk Airtime in South Africa with SIMcloud

SIMcloud sends bulk airtime as direct, pinless recharges to South African mobile numbers. Prepare a CSV with one recipient per row, specify the correct network and rand value, upload it under Bulk Recharge, review the batch and confirm it once. Each row is then processed and reported separately.

How SIMcloud bulk airtime works

Direct recharge loads airtime onto the mobile number; you do not distribute voucher PINs manually. This is useful for staff allowances, field teams, surveys, promotions, customer rewards, call centres, telemetry devices and other repeated operational purchases.

SIMcloud supports the major South African networks Vodacom, MTN, Cell C and Telkom. A single CSV can contain numbers from different supported networks, provided every row states the current network correctly.

If you need to recharge only one person, use Airtime Recharge instead. The single form asks for the number, reference, network and amount, and protects against another order for the same mobile number and amount within five minutes. For many recipients, the CSV workflow is faster and easier to reconcile.

Prepare the airtime order

• Confirm every mobile number with the recipient or source system.
• Check the current network, especially for ported numbers.
• Choose an airtime value from R2 to R999 per row.
• Use a useful reference for each recipient.
• Confirm that the wallet can cover the complete batch.
• Remove people who should not receive the recharge before exporting.

Use SIMcloud’s free Network Confirmation Tool when a network is uncertain. A prefix alone is not reliable after number porting.

Prepare the four CSV columns

msisdn,network,value,reference
0821234567,vodacom,50,Field team July
0831234567,mtn,100,Sales allowance
0841234567,cellc,25,Survey reward
0811234567,telkom,75,Support phone

Upload the bulk airtime CSV

1. Sign in and open Bulk Recharge from the recharge menu.
2. Download the official template and remove all dummy rows.
3. Keep the four headers unchanged and complete every cell.
4. Export the completed worksheet as a comma-separated CSV.
5. Give the order a name that identifies the run, for example July field airtime.
6. Choose the CSV file and confirm that you checked the order.
7. Start the upload and remain on the page while SIMcloud parses the file.

SIMcloud recommends no more than 5,000 transactions in one bulk recharge file. Large files also depend on the memory available in your browser and computer, so splitting a very large run into named batches can be safer.

Review and confirm the batch

After validation, SIMcloud opens the bulk confirmation page. Use this pause to inspect the rows and totals before the work is queued.

1. Compare the number of rows with your source list.
2. Search for unusually high amounts or duplicated recipients.
3. Check the network label beside each number.
4. Check the total against the available wallet balance and your approved budget.
5. Cancel and correct the source file if anything is wrong.
6. Confirm once when the batch is correct.

Successful mobile recharges are irreversible. The confirmation step is the final operational control before the batch is released.

Check results and failed-order reversals

After confirmation, use the SIMcloud transaction and CSV reporting screens to reconcile each row. A row can succeed, remain in progress while a network responds, or fail with an operational reason.

For a failed recharge, verify that the failed amount is returned to the SIMcloud wallet before attempting a corrected order. Re-submit only the verified failures, not the original full list.

Keep the following evidence with a support request:

• Batch name and upload date.
• Recipient mobile number.
• Selected network and amount.
• SIMcloud reference and displayed status.
• Whether the wallet reversal is visible.

Frequently asked questions