Paynow Blog

Airtime Top-Up App – Recharge Any Network in Zimbabwe

With multiple digital payments available, cross-platform payments have become a necessity for the average Zimbabwean. We have gotten to a stage where the bulk of the country’s financial transactions happen electronically.

There are few areas in which this is more of a fact than with airtime top-up. It is also very clear that the leading platform in Zimbabwe as far as purchasing airtime conveniently is Paynow’s payment app. 

Paynow Topup App?

Paynow Topup application is a web-based app that helps you do cross-platform payments. Paynow allows you to pay utility bills, Mobile bundles, airtime, and tuition as well as buy fuel amongst other applications. From the comfort of your home, it’s now possible to balance out your Zesa and Zinwa bills. 

Utility bill payments are available for the following local authorities and utility providers:

  • ZESA Prepaid
  • ZINWA water Meter Bill
  • City of Harare
  • City of Masvingo
  • Bulawayo City Council
  • City of Mutare
  • Ruwa Local Board
  • Victoria Falls Municipality
  • Norton Town Council
  • Bindura Municipality

Paynow has added an extra layer of convenience by introducing the Paynow WhatsApp bot. This means that you are now able to buy airtime and pay bills all from within WhatsApp. To access it, simply save the number +263 8644 729 100 and message it through WhatsApp.

To buy airtime, send the message “airtime” and you will be prompted through the rest of the steps.

Buying Airtime Online

When having challenges with buying airtime for your Econet Buddie line with your One Wallet or vice versa, the Paynow TopUp application enables you to make cross-platform payments.

Paynow TopUp gives you options for Airtime direct. This allows one to top-up airtime directly to their phone without any extra charges for the transaction.

 The Airtime Direct option gives you an option to buy either airtime or data & social bundles across all mobile networks.

What does this mean for you? It means you can buy Telecel airtime and bundles using your Ecocash or OneMoney wallet.

You can buy airtime on Paynow using your mobile money wallet, Zimswitch, or local Visa and MasterCard.

Get Your Bulk Airtime and SMS Needs in One Place

As Paynow through understanding the needs of our customers we always come up with innovative solutions to improve your operational efficiencies. As such we have packaged a bulk airtime and sms solution which can be executed by Paynow or as a self service solution. With bulk airtime our value proposition is to supply all airtime and data across all networks in Zimbabwe from a single payment and single invoice. All this is done at no additional cost.

Pay for the face value of both airtime and data with the added convenience of direct delivery to the recipient remotely. The need to communicate with your clients cannot be overemphasized. Bulk SMS solution makes this possible through this affordable channel at competitive rates in the market. We offer support for any queries arising through our efficient and professional Contact Centre. You simply deserve the best customer care and that is what we offer.

Bulk Airtime

Our Solution’s Benefits

  1. Single payment and invoice for airtime and/or data from Econet, NetOne, Telecel, ZOL and TelOne
  2. Cut on distribution costs and minimise human capital during the covid 19 era
  3. Minimise on allowance abuse. Instead of distributing cash for airtime, have the actual airtime or data distributed.
  4. Save time and do what matters by allowing us to cover your administrative function of buying and distributing the airtime across the networks and service providers

Bulk SMS

Our Solution’s Benefits

  1. Send SMSes across all networks at affordable rates
  2. Increase your brand visibility through the use of a user ID
  3. Carry out your marketing initiatives with the cheapest yet efficient channel with an open rate of 98%
  4. All the above ultimately pave the way to boosting your revenue
  5. Receive SMS campaign reports for delivery statuses

Register a TXT Account for Self Service

Be in control of your TXT Account by registering through www.txt.co.zw and have access to the following benefits:

  1. Distribute airtime and SMSes through the account for your specific needs at anytime
  2. Keep a record for accountability and audit trail for both airtime and SMSes distribution.
  3. Top up your account independently through our Paynow channels ( Ecocash, Onemoney, Telecash, Vpayments, Visa/Mastercard) or transfer funds to us and we top it up for you
  4. Free training on how to use the account

Next Steps for Bulk Airtime

Option 1

  1. Submit your schedules to our sales team for all networks or ISPs which include: Name, Phone number/account number, Package if data and Amount
  2. Receive a quotation with our banking details and make a payment
  3. Provide the POP and expect delivery within 48 hours

Option 2

  1. Register a TXT account on www.txt.co.zw
  2. Top up the account through a bank transfer or through Paynow
  3. Create contacts or upload them through a CSV file
  4. Distribute the airtime

Next Steps for Bulk SMS

Option 1

  1. Decide if you want to use a default user ID or your own company name oriented user ID
  2. If using your company user ID, apply for the user ID with not more than 11 characters.
  3. Submit your database and text content with not more than 140 characters and get a quotation
  4. Provide the POP for the campaign to be sent out
  5. Receive a report for campaign delivery statuses

Option 2

  1. Register a TXT account on www.txt.co.zw
  2. Top up the account through a bank transfer or through Paynow
  3. Create contacts or upload them through a CSV file
  4. Distribute your SMSes
  5. View your reports for delivery status

Sign Up below

Leave your details below and Kudzai will get in touch with you for assistance and to start distributing bulk airtime and bulk SMSes

Bulk Airtime & SMS

Lead capture for Bulk Airtime & SMS products

WhatsApp/Call Kudzai on +263719194371
Email on kudzai@paynow.co.zw

Is ZOL Owned by Econet?

Zimbabwe Online (ZOL), Zimbabwe’s leading internet service provider is owned by Econet Global.  Econet Global’s subsidiary, Liquid Telecommunications, made an acquisition of ZOL back in 2012. ZOL is, therefore, part of the Econet global family through Liquid Telecom. 

However, ZOL was given the right to remain independent in its operations and branding until 2022 when it was rebranded to Liquid Home. 

Who Owns ZOL?

Since ZOL, now Liquid Home is owned by Liquid Intelligent Technologies which is itself a subsidiary of Econet Global, the owner of ZOL is Strive Masiyiwa.

The chief executive officer of Liquid Intelligent Technologies is Nic Rudnick who is the overseer of both parent and child companies. The CEO of ZOL, David Behr, reports directly to the Liquid Telecom CEO and its board of directors. 

What Does ZOL Do?

ZOL, now Liquid Home,  is actually the leading internet service provider in Zimbabwe. ZOL has the biggest user base when it comes to home internet connectivity. They have the fastest and most extensive fibre optic cable network in the country. 

They also offer a host of other connectivity options that include wireless options to service areas that do not yet have fibre optic cable connectivity. Both capped and uncapped services are offered for both home and office use at decent pricing.

Can You Buy ZOL With Ecocash?

You can buy ZOL data packages using Ecocash. This would only make sense as both ZOL and Econet are under the same ownership. Here is how to pay your ZOL bill using Ecocash:

  • Dial *151# to access your Ecocash account
  • Select Pay Bill
  • Select Regular Bill
  • Enter the Amount you wish to pay
  • Enter account number
  • Press send

Upon payment, your ZOL account will be topped up. 

To top-up the Ecocash wallet for this, you can connect your EcoCash wallet to your bank account so you can transfer funds to your EcoCash wallet for the needed transaction.

Are there any Data Centres in Africa?

Are there data centres anywhere in Africa? A data centre is a location that houses networks and computing equipment. The data centre must be capable of storing and processing large amounts of data.  Data centres have become a very relevant technology due to the services provided. They are used for a myriad of critical services.

Data centres have been used to operate power grids, telecommunications transport networks, bank systems, security systems, entertainment, and health. Vast infrastructure relies on data centres.

Components of Data Centers?

Data centres are an essential technology in the 21st century. Like many companies, organizations and individuals go digital. The reliance on cloud services has become more important since transnational organizations need to access information readily where ever they are.  Companies rely more and more on their data stores in the cloud.

Data centres are made up of multiple components. A collection of networking, storage, and processing equipment is used. The equipment can be described as routers, switches, storage systems, servers, and application delivery controllers.

Functions of a Data Center

The data centre has a myriad f uses. Due to the advent of technology, it has become necessary for organizations to store large amounts of data. Hence data centres are useful since they collect and store large amounts of data. The centres are also critical for processing and distributing large amounts of data.

Data centres are critical infrastructures. Businesses that need to maintain an online presence can rely on the services of data centres for their benefit. Through data centres, businesses and organizations can operate efficiently in their daily activities whilst running applications and processing data.

The data centres connect centre servers that are physically and virtually. Storage and extra connectivity to end-users are ensured. The storage infrastructure is also used to manage data users for day-to-day use. The servers process critical data for organizations and companies.

Where Are Data Centers Found in Africa?

Africa has only explored a mere 20% of its connectivity capability. The demand for connectivity is still relatively low; however, the COVID-induced demand for connectivity has increased demand. As such, data centres for organizations and businesses have become even more important.

Regardless of the difficulties faced by many operators in the field. Data centres can be found in Africa.

Africa has 82 colocation data centres. Various companies are on the verge of building more centres in Africa. The centres are established in all regions of the continent. Algeria has 4 centres, Angola with 7, Cameroon 1, Democratic Republic of Congo 1, Ghana 2, Kenya 9, Mauritius 9, Morocco 5, Nigeria 10, Reunion 1, South Africa 26, Tanzania 2, Tunisia 2, Uganda 1, and Zimbabwe 1.

What is Liquid Intelligent Technologies Tanzania?

Liquid Intelligent Technologies is the subsidiary of Econet Global Group. It is a business of Cassava Technologies a parent company to other 8 subsidiary companies of Econet Global. The headquarters for Liquid Intelligent Technologies are in London. 

Liquid Intelligent Technologies was formerly called Liquid Telecoms. The rebrand was to portray the evolution of the company to a leading telecommunications and Technology Company. Liquid Intelligent Technologies is now one of the largest independent telecommunications and technology companies.

The company has played a pivotal role in connecting and linking Africa to the world. Liquid Intelligent Technologies has the largest satellite and fibre optic infrastructure in Africa. 

What is Liquid Tanzania?

Raha Limited was rebranded to Liquid Intelligent Technologies (Liquid Tanzania). It is the leading internet connectivity, service provider. The company is based in Dar es Salaam and has been in operation for the past 13 years providing efficient, reliable, and fast internet connectivity. 

The company is relatively high-tech with cutting-edge technology. Liquid Tanzania has established itself as a reliable internet service for businesses, organizations, and home use.  

Background of Liquid Tanzania

Liquid Tanzania was acquired by the telecom giant in 2017. However, like ZOl in Zimbabwe the company retained its name and structure. As the parent company, Liquid Intelligent Technologies rebranded, it was only a matter of time before Raha was to adopt the name of the parent company. 

Raha was pivotal in bringing the internet to the Southern African state. It launched the dial-up service in 1996. The company further established dial-up access, VSAT services, fixed wireless, cable-based internet, WiMax, and finally fibre optic. 

The company established a 400km metro fibre-optic network throughout the CBD of Dar es Salaam. It has built extensive goodwill as an ISP.    

Operations of Liquid Tanzania

Liquid Tanzania offers Cloud, connectivity, and managed solutions. It provisions WiMax and wifi to retail customers and Iaas, PaaS, and SaaS. Liquid Tanzania operates 150 WiMax and WIFI hotspots established across Tanzania in Arusha, Moshi, Mwanza, Mbeya, and Tanga.

Furthermore, the company offers cross-border internet connectivity solutions. This is facilitated through microwave, satellite mediums, and fibre optics. 

The outfit further provisions e-commerce platforms for business personnel, and the Azure stack. This is courtesy of Liquid Intelligent Technologies being a gold partner with Microsoft. Liquid Tanzania serves more than 2000 businesses in the country. Further, a growing number of retailers are currently affiliating with the service provider.

The massive infrastructure backing Liquid Tanzania will prove pivotal as demand grows in the country. The extensive digital infrastructure and access to data centres will ensure the efficient and reliable customer satisfaction that the Econet Global brand seeks to achieve.

Liquid Telecom Market Share in Africa

Market share refers to the percentage of total revenues of sales in a market or industry that a company makes up. We calculate the market share by dividing its total sales or revenues by the industry’s total sales over a certain period. 

This will give us a rough idea of the size of the company as compared to the industry it is operating in. Therefore, Liquid Telecom’s market share would be the proportion of revenue it gets as compared to the revenue received by the telecommunications industry in Africa as a whole. 

Liquid Telecom Market Share

Liquid Telecom is undoubtedly one of Africa’s largest independent fibre network providers, however, developments are being made for entering outside of the African markets as well. 

This comes forth from the development that was made that Liquid Telecom is past 100,000 kilometres of fibre in Africa as they had 89,989 kilometres of fibre in Africa at the beginning of the year 2021. 

The chief executive officer, Nic Rudnick has said that with the 100,000-kilometre milestone at least 100 million people have been positively impacted by this and 643 towns and cities have been connected as well. 

This has created a very big platform for many people who have never received reliable, efficient Internet connectivity, to actually receive it. 

Liquid Telecom also managed to implement a system in which its customers can access the cloud services which is beneficial for post-pandemic adjustment to a new environment of working from home. 

This is achieved through the cloud and data centres. Nick Rudnick has shared that Liquid Telecom carries 76% peering NCD in traffic within the Africa content delivery network. 

Liquid Telecom has over 250,000 broadband customers and its FTTX now passes over 95,000 homes. This just shows that Liquid Telecom has a very big chunk of Africa’s telecom market share to itself. This has been made evident by the number of customers, enterprises and countries that it caters to, which will later translate to its total revenue. 

Not only is Liquid Telecom blooming in Africa, but in 2012 in the Zimbabwe telecommunications industry, Liquid Telecom has the highest market share of at least 54.2% this just shows excellent excellence!

Other key players in the telecommunications market

In the telecommunications industry, especially in the mobile network service providers, there are other companies doing well such as the likes of MTN, Telkom, VodacomGroup, Orascom telecom, Maroc Telecom, MobinilandSafaricom.

This just proves that Africa as a whole has a much brighter technological future which is going to increase the much-needed standard of life across the continent.

Liquid telecom continues to soar and break glass ceilings by providing very fast very efficient Internet connectivity across the world.

Liquid Telecom London

Although the idea of Liquid Telecom as a company that offers fibre Network connection services was thought out in Harare, Zimbabwe, the headquarters was established in London, United Kingdom. To complement the quality services Liquid Telecom offers to businesses and customers mainly in Africa and other parts of the world, the headquarters was established to look the part. 

Liquid Telecom London has been named the best African wholesale carrier for five consecutive years at the global career awards. 

Liquid Telecom London Location and Contact Details

The Liquid Telecom headquarters is located on the 9th floor, 6 new St square, London EC4A 3BF. Those who wish to contact the office can dial their telephone number 02 071016296 or +4420 7101 6100.

The company is a public limited company as it is also listed on London’s Stock Exchange classified under the industry of telecommunications. The website link for the London office is https://www.liquidtelecom.com. Further information about the company and what it does can be found on the website as well. 

The London Liquid Telecom has over 1000 employees that are there to perform different roles and responsibilities that make up and meet the organisational goals as a whole. 

The office is open from Monday to Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 AM and is closed on Saturday and Sunday but help with something can be aided by the Liquid Telecom London website link. Directions to get there can be found on Google Maps. Upon arrival, you can go to the receptionist who can assist you with what you need. 

What does Liquid Telecom do?

Liquid Telecom is an Internet Protocol provider that uses fibre optics and provides data and voice services as well. These communication solutions and Internet connectivity are affordable and of very high quality. 

Where Else is Liquid Telecom Located?

Despite having its headquarters being based in London, Liquid Telecom is predominantly located in Africa, therefore Africans get to enjoy these benefits the most. 

 In West Africa, Liquid Telecom is located in Mauritius. In South Africa, Liquid Telecom can be found in Zimbabwe, Harare, Swaziland, South Africa, Zambia, Botswana, and Lesotho.

On the eastern African side, you can find Liquid Telecom offices in Burundi, and Kenya. The company also offers Internet service provider services to 14 other countries, through their partners though.