In India, usage of prepaid card is very high compared to postpaid. Whereas in countries like US, UK and others the consumer’s preference is opposite i.e. they prefer postpaid over prepaid.

There are many ways to recharge prepaid card be it of Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance and others. Here are the most preferred options of recharging used by Indian consumers:

1. By visiting company’s store physically or any other local store who offers prepaid recharge facility
2. Online on company’s website or their app
3. Deals sites such as Paytm, groupon, coupondunia and their apps
4. Through bank website or their app

2-4 above mentioned options are fast but they consume internet and sometimes not secured as there is a risk of internet fraud. And paying through app, consumes internet which incurs charges.

Taking advantage of digital technology to further provide better customer service, HDFC bank has launched Missed Call Mobile Recharge Service – Missed Call Pe Instant Recharge. Using this service, customers can give missed call and get instant recharge done.

How to top-up your prepaid card using this service and what are the requirements?

You can only recharge the mobile number registered with the bank. And it involves two steps:

1. One time activation
2. Recharge

Activation:

For activating the service, customer has to send one SMS to 7308080808. The default recharge amount set by HDFC bank is Rs. 50. But choice has been given to the consumers to set favorite amount from minimum Rs. 10 to a maximum of Rs. 250.

For activation, you have to type ACT <Operator Name> <Last 5 Digits of Account Number> and send SMS to 7308080808 from the registered mobile number. If you use some other number then it will not work.

For e.g. your account number is 1234567898765 and operator name is IDEA, then you will have to type:
ACT IDEA 98765 and send this to 7308080808. You will receive confirmation message that Activation Successful.

Recharge:

Next step is recharge which you can do as per your preferred amount and time. And here’s how to do this:
Recharging is very simple and customer has to dial 7308080808 and automatically the card will be credited by the set recharge amount. Your mobile screen will display the message Recharge Successful. This amount will then get deducted from the bank account of the customer.

To further benefit their customer, HDFC bank has also extended the service for the customer’s family members and friends. And 2 extra numbers can be added. And to use missed call mobile recharge service for them, you need to follow the same procedure i.e. activation and recharge as follows:

1. Activation: ACT <10 digit mobile number> <Operator Name> <Last 5 digits of account number>
2. Recharge: Now these two persons can recharge by dialing 7308080808 from their cell phone. And the money will automatically debited from the account.

Benefits of recharging prepaid card using missed call for the customers:

• It is much faster compared to the above mentioned four options
• It will save time and money. The time and cost of visiting store or using internet is high.
• It is secured. While recharging online there is always a danger of fraud.
• No need of wallet, app, internet.
• If a consumer is travelling or is in a remote location, then missed call mobile recharge service will work wonderful. Because in India, especially in remote location, availability of store or internet is difficult. So recharging by just giving a missed call would be efficient.
• The scheme will benefit consumers from villages and small towns.
• You can recharge mobile number of any telephone operator.

How it will benefit the bank:

• With this, they will increase customer satisfaction
• This is one of the way of keeping the dormant accounts active especially the ones opened under under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana.
• Bank will analyze customer data and offer them products to increase life time value

Such an innovative recharge method looks to be the world’s fastest and simplest way to recharge. In future, HDFC bank is expected to offer the service to their credit card customers.