How to Borrow Airtime on MTN: *303#, 15% Fee, Why It Says No

Dial *303#, choose Borrow Credit, pick an amount and confirm, and the airtime lands in under a minute. It isn't free. A 15% fee comes off upfront: borrow ₦100 and you get ₦85, yet your next recharge still takes back the full ₦100.

That's how to borrow airtime MTN lends out under the name XtraTime, and it's been back since early July after a pause over new lending rules. Facts here are as at 10 October 2026. Steps come first, then a fix for each spot where the loan usually stalls.

How to borrow airtime MTN lends through *303#, step by step

Use the SIM that needs the credit. Dual-SIM phones sometimes dial from the wrong line, so glance at the SIM picker before you press call.

1. Open your dialler on the MTN line you want to credit.
2. Dial *303#, with the star in front. Some broadcasts drop the star, and that version won't go through.
3. Choose the option to borrow airtime (Borrow Credit).
4. Pick one amount from the list on your screen.
5. Confirm.

Then dial *310#. Your balance should show the borrowed credit, less the fee. If you'd rather tap than dial, the MyMTN app does the same job, and it lends data too.

Don't expect your list of amounts to match your friend's. Each line's offers come from its own recharge history and usage, which is why two people waiting at the same bus stop can open the same menu and see quite different screens. Some lines have been offered up to ₦1,295. Yours might be lower. Nobody outside MTN can promise you a ceiling.

Bigger loans don't earn a smaller fee: it's 15% on every amount, and you always repay the full sum you borrowed rather than the smaller figure that actually reached your line.

Why can't I borrow airtime on MTN? Six snags and the fix

Find the message you got below. The fix sits right under it.

"You are not eligible"

Before it lends, MTN weighs three things: how long the SIM has been active, your recharge history, and how often you buy and use airtime. A brand-new SIM may not qualify yet. Neither may the line you top up once in a blue moon.

Patience is the fix. Keep recharging that line as usual for a few weeks, then try again. There's no published minimum for time on the network or balance, so any number you see quoted for either isn't an MTN rule.

An old XtraTime loan is still unpaid

One unpaid loan blocks the next one, whether it was airtime or data. Recharge to clear it, check your balance, then try again.

You dialled *606#, the old code

*606# is gone. Today *303# is the only USSD code to borrow airtime, so any old broadcast that still carries *606# (yes, including the one your aunty forwarded) is out of date.

Your recharge seems to vanish

Say you owe ₦500 and then recharge. Your balance will show less than you paid for. Nothing went missing. The loan simply came back out of that top-up in full. If the figure still doesn't add up once you subtract the loan, call MTN customer care with the date and time of the recharge.

You're on a postpaid line

XtraTime serves prepaid customers only, so on a postpaid line you won't see a borrow option at all.

The service shows as unavailable

This one comes from regulation, not from your line. In April 2026, MTN suspended XtraTime while it worked through the FCCPC's new consumer lending rules, known as the DEON Regulations. A Federal High Court order in Lagos then led the FCCPC to pause enforcement on 22 May, and lending came back on MTN in early July.

The fight didn't end there. In late July the same court backed the FCCPC's powers, and the FCCPC planned to resume enforcement. WASPAN, the association of service providers that brought the case, appealed the next day. Lending on MTN stayed on through the end of July. If the menu ever tells you the service is unavailable, that court fight is the likely cause, and you'll need a normal top-up until MTN switches lending back on.

Paying it back, and when borrowing costs more than buying

You don't dial anything to repay. Your next recharge clears the loan, whether you load the credit yourself or someone sends it to you. If that top-up is smaller than what you owe, part of the loan comes out of it and the rest comes out of the one after.

It's late, your credit is gone, NEPA has taken light, and you need to call home before your battery dies too. That's the moment XtraTime is for.

For anything you can plan, buy instead. Borrowing always carries the 15% fee. Buying never does. Here's what lands on your line and what you pay in each case. Prices as at 10 October 2026.

Anyone can top up MTN airtime from ₦50 on AidaPay, for your own line or someone else's. That money clears your loan first, and whatever remains stays on your line.

Before you borrow again: take the smallest amount

Next time you're stuck, borrow the smallest amount that covers your call. The fee grows with every extra naira you take. Afterwards, check your balance so you know what your next top-up will lose, and for balance, data and SIM codes in one place, keep the full list of MTN USSD codes handy.

Frequently asked questions

Published 10 October 2026. Prices and codes change - if you spot one that has moved, tell us and we will fix it.