Transfer Airtime on Airtel (*432#, PIN 1234) or Buy Direct?

To transfer airtime on Airtel, dial *432*RecipientNumber*Amount*PIN# from your Airtel line. Change the default PIN, 1234, before you send anything, because everyone knows it. The code only works Airtel to Airtel.

Say you send your child ₦1,000 every Monday. Bought straight onto their line, a month of that airtime costs you ₦3,964 once the cashback lands, while the transfer route can cost ₦4,040.

How to transfer airtime on Airtel to another Airtel number

Me2U is Airtel's airtime transfer service, and it moves credit from your balance to another Airtel number. Once your own PIN is set, each send is one code. You can dial it while your child is still hunting for their shoes.

1. Dial *432# from the Airtel line that holds the airtime.
2. Choose Change PIN and set four digits only you know.
3. To send, dial *432*0802XXXXXXX*1000*YourPIN#.
4. Read the confirmation SMS for the amount and any charge.

Texting works too. Send 2u, then the number, the amount and your PIN to 432, with a space between each part. To change the PIN by text, send PIN followed by your old PIN and your new one to that same shortcode.

*432#, *321# or *311#: which code sends airtime?

People mix these three up all the time. *321# is the share code the NCC set for every network, and it works on Airtel too: open it, pick Airtel to Airtel, and follow the prompts. The Me2U code skips that network question entirely.

*311# doesn't move airtime at all. It only loads a recharge card onto your own line, so if you type a phone number and an amount into it, all you'll get back is an error message.

Keep the full list of Airtel USSD codes close if the stars and hashes start to blur together.

What four Monday sends cost by transfer

A month of Monday sends takes ₦4,000 out of your balance. On top of that, Airtel may charge a fee on each successful transfer. Not every line pays it. Your first confirmation SMS tells you which kind of line you have.

Some lines also cap transfers per day, often at ₦5,000.

That cap bites in resumption week. Your child needs extra for calls and data, so you try one big send, and it bounces back with an error you never saw coming while they're already waiting for credit. Send part today and the rest tomorrow.

Buying the same ₦4,000 straight onto your child's line

This route skips the transfer completely. Every Airtel airtime top-up on AidaPay pays 0.9% cashback. That puts your monthly cost below the Me2U route even on a line that never pays the fee, since the cashback stays with you either way and the big resumption-week top-up goes through in one purchase. You don't need a transfer PIN for any of it.

Your own balance stays where it is too. That matters on the evening your child flashes you and you need credit to call back.

Sending Airtel airtime to an MTN number: it won't go

You can't transfer airtime on Airtel to another network. No code sends Airtel airtime to an MTN, Glo or T2 number, whatever the WhatsApp broadcast from your aunty says.

Pay on their network instead. You can top up an MTN line directly and get 1.8% cashback on it.

Airtime-to-cash services will turn Airtel airtime into money, but they keep a cut of every conversion, and for a regular weekly top-up that cut makes buying on the child's own network the cheaper move.

Both routes for one month, side by side

Here's one month of weekly top-ups to one child's line. Prices as at 2 November 2026.

For next Monday, buy Airtel airtime straight to their number and keep the cashback.

If a transfer fails

Most failed sends come down to a few small slips. A "wrong PIN" message usually means you typed the old default out of habit, so retype the new one. Forgotten it completely? Call Airtel customer care on 300 and ask them to reset it. When the message says "insufficient balance", dial *310# to see what's left before you try a smaller amount. A big send that bounced just needs splitting across two days.

If the airtime went to the wrong number, call 300 straight away and give them the time and amount from your confirmation SMS.

A transfer is fine for an emergency. For the weekly top-up, buying direct costs less and leaves your own balance alone, which is the whole point. Whichever route you pick, change that default PIN tonight.

Frequently asked questions

Published 2 November 2026. Prices and codes change - if you spot one that has moved, tell us and we will fix it.