This article will guide you on how to withdraw a viral transaction on Airtel Uganda.
I recently sent money to a friend using the wrong code via my AirtelMoney number. Airtel’s Send Money menu presents you with options to Send Money to “Airtel number”, “MTN Number”, and “UTL number.” When I selected the send money to MTN number option, the “external application down” notification kept on popping on my screen numerous times. Annoying, right? I then intendingly sent money to an MTN number using the Airtel number option. The transaction was a success however, the notification that I received got under my nerves because it showed that I had made a viral transaction. Didn’t mind much for I thought that the recipient had gotten the confirmation on their side as well and they can withdraw the money. A few moments, the recipient reached out asking if I had sent the money, my response was a big yes and I was shocked to learn that they hadn’t received the money on their account.
I went back to the confirmatory message to check if I sent the money to the correct number. Luckily, the number was correct. The details of the message also showed a secret code. I immediately took the screenshot of the message and shared it with the receipt thinking they can reach out to the Airtel Money agent and then share the number and secret code with the agent just similarly to our normal withdrawal transactions. The transactions failed. At this point, I was very scared for my ‘ka money.’
I reached out to Airtel customer care support for help and eventually, I was able to learn more about viral transactions. Viral transactions are transactions for which the money doesn’t display on the recipient’s account but you should use the secret code in the message to withdraw it from an Airtel money agent within 4 days. Unfortunately, most of the Airtel Money agents are not accustomed to such transactions since they rarely occur. In order to withdraw a viral transaction from Airtel Uganda, advise the agent to follow the procedure below;
- Dial *185# and press OK.
- Select option 1, Customer transactions.
- Select the option that corresponds with “Viral Cash Pickup.”
- Enter the Senders number.
- Enter the receiver’s number.
- Enter the transaction ID.
- Enter the Secret code.
- Confirm transaction with Agent’s pin. Once the withdrawal transaction is confirmed, the Agent will give you your money. That is it!
Quick Note: The sender and receiver will receive a notification after the withdrawal transaction has been processed successfully.
