Data · Glossary

What Is Corporate Gifting Data? CG vs SME Data, Validity, Price

CG data is a normal bundle that a business account gifts to your line. Here's how it differs from SME data and gifting from your own line, and why validity matters more than the label.

Femi Adeyemi 31 October 2026 · 3 min read

A normal bundle, bought by a business account and gifted to your line

Corporate gifting data (CG data) is a mobile data bundle that a business buys in bulk through a network's corporate channel and sends to someone else's line. It arrives as a normal data plan, with that plan's own validity and its usual balance code.

"CG" is a reseller's word. Neither MTN nor Airtel sells anything by that name, so "MTN CG data" is simply an MTN plan that came to you through a business account.

What is corporate gifting data doing behind the scenes?

Behind every CG sale sits a vendor or VTU platform (a service that sells airtime and data online) holding a business account with the network. When you pay that vendor, it gifts the bundle from its own account straight to your number, and your airtime isn't touched at any point. Your phone can't tell who sent it.

No special clock starts.

A monthly plan runs a month. Daily data is gone by this time tomorrow. No network publishes a "CG validity" or an official CG rate, whatever a flyer says. In its gifting rules, MTN files SME customers and Corporate or Enterprise customers as separate classes from you gifting off your own line on *312#, *321# or the myMTN app.

CG, SME or a gift from your own line?

Whichever route you pick, the person you're sending to ends up with a regular plan on their phone. Only two things change. Who paid, and how the bundle got there.

Label	Who buys it	How it reaches you	Validity and balance
Corporate gifting (CG)	A business account	Gifted to your line as a regular plan	The plan's own validity, normal balance code
SME data (MTN Data Transfer)	A reseller buying in bulk	Shared to your line	Stated on the plan; MTN Data Transfer shows on 3234#
Normal gifting	You, from your own airtime	You dial *312# on MTN for a friend	The plan's own validity

SME data started life as bulk data for companies to share out to staff lines. On MTN it now goes by Data Transfer, and the guide on what SME data is covers how that sharing works. For your own phone, you can buy MTN data transfer plans and keep an eye on them with *323*4#.

Worked example: 2GB for your sister's Airtel line

Her data finished halfway through an assignment. So you buy an Airtel 2GB - 1 Month plan for ₦1,485 as Airtel data for another number, and it lands on her line like any Airtel monthly plan. She also gets a 2GB YouTube Night bonus plus 200MB for YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and she can check the lot by dialling *323#, the Airtel code in the data balance codes guide.

Now put it next to a daily plan.

Prices as at 31 October 2026:

Plan	AidaPay price (cashback)	Validity	Cost per GB
Airtel 2GB - 1 Month	₦1,485 (₦10.19 cashback)	30 days	₦742.50
Airtel 1GB - 1 Day	₦495 (₦2 cashback)	1 day	₦495

Per gigabyte, the daily plan looks cheaper. It's also dead within 24 hours. The monthly plan, on the other hand, carries her through four weeks of lectures, class group chats and the odd late-night video before she has to beg anyone for data again. So let size, price and validity decide. The label decides nothing.

Before you pay a "CG" seller

Cheap CG offers fill WhatsApp statuses. Some are fine. Before you send money to one of those sellers, run through this:

Ask for the network, the plan size and the validity in days.
Ask which balance code the receiving line should dial.
Pay only where you get a traceable receipt.
A few minutes after paying, dial that code on the receiving line.
If nothing shows, send the receipt and ask for a resend or a refund.

MTN bans bulk gifting from unapproved platforms and gifting by bots, so if you paid into a stranger's personal account and the data never arrives, there's nothing to trace.

SME data · MTN Data Transfer · VTU · USSD · Airtime to cash · Data balance codes · The full glossary

Frequently asked questions

What does CG mean in data?

CG is short for corporate gifting. Resellers use it for bundles sent from a business account, but on your phone it's an ordinary network plan.

Does CG data expire faster than normal data?

No. It lasts exactly as long as the plan bought, so 30-day data gives you 30 days and 1-day data runs out the next day.

How do I check CG data balance?

Dial the usual balance code on the line that received it. That's *323# on Airtel, or *323*4# for MTN Data Transfer.

Is CG data safe to buy?

The bundle is a normal network plan. The risk is the seller, so pay where you get a receipt and check the balance on the receiving line straight after.