How to withdraw MTN/Airtel mobile money for registered and users on other networks

When you are a regular MTN mobile money user, transactions via mobile money are an everyday occurrence so much so that everything seems obvious. But when you are totally new to Mobile money like those who are visiting Uganda or you are switching from one network to another, you need a more conversant friend to take you through the basics.

MTN Uganda is certainly the biggest mobile money network with Ugx 1.8 trillion ($66 million) transacted per month. You can pay for Umeme Yaka, pay school fees, Pay TV, Water bills and also transfer mobile to your folks in the village.

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When someone has sent you money through the platform, here’s how you can withdraw the money:

Registered Users

Walk to the nearest Mobile money agent and tell them the amount you wish to withdraw. The agent will initiate a transaction which basically attempts to transfer the money from your Mobile Money account to theirs. That’s why you’ve have to make an approval.


Related post: Mobile Money charges in Uganda: A complete list of mobile money rates across all the providers


To approve, dial the MTN mobile money shortcode *165# if you haven’t received a pushed USSD request to your phone. Go, type 00 for next>11 for My Account > 1. My Approvals > Enter you PIN. You will see list of approvals. Select the one that corresponds to the withdraw.  Note that MTN might update its Menus, so this is bound to change with time.

Unregistered Users/ Users on another network

You can send money to any mobile number in Uganda, whether they are on the same network or not or if they are Mobile mobile registered users or not. For instance MTN Mobile money user can send money to an Airtel subscriber. That’s the genius behind mobile money platform. It costs a little more to send money to a user on another network or to one who is not registered.

The recipient will receive a token ID which is about 11 digits code sent amount via SMS. The system also generates a 4-digit secrete code, but the recipient should call the sender directly for this code. This is designed to limit fraud. With token ID and secret code, walk your network’s nearest Mobile agent and present the transaction token ID and secret code you received. The agent will verify that transaction is indeed legit and give you your money.

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Image Credit: DailyMonitor

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