What does Pay As You Go mean?
A Pay As You Go (PAYG) mobile phone is a mobile phone for which credit is purchased in advance of service use. The purchased credit is used to pay for mobile phone services at the time the service is accessed or consumed. If there is no available credit then access to the requested service is denied by the mobile phone network. Users are able to top up their credit at any time using a variety of payment mechanisms.
Alternative to contract phone
The alternative billing method is a monthly mobile phone contact, where a user enters into a long-term billing arrangement with a mobile network operator. This costs a significant amount of money a month and you are often locked into the contract for a year or 18 months. It’s usually a lot more expensive than a PAYG phone but customers are often rewarded with free handsets and it can be cheaper than PAYG for very high volume users.
Advantages
- It’s great value – there are no monthly charges it’s often much cheaper than a contract.
- There’s no credit check – great if your credit history needs improvement or you’re under 18.
- You know exactly how much you’re spending – you’ll never be charged more than you’ve topped up.
- You’re not tied to a contract – you can change operator or upgrade to a new phone whenever you want.
Top up Pay As You Go
Pay As You Go (PAYG) phones have a balance which can be queried at any time and which can be topped up periodically. It’s possible to use the following methods to top-up PAYG mobiles:
- a credit card or debit card through an automated system, on the phone or online
- direct from a bank account using an ATM
- in a retail store by purchasing a “top-up” or “refill” card at retail
- in a retail store using a swipe card where the balance is credited automatically to the phone after the retailer accepts payment
Free PAYG SIMs
Many networks offer free Pay As You Go (PAYG) SIM cards. These free SIM cards sometimes even come with free credit once you activate them so you can start making calls right away. It’s even possible to get deals for unlimited texts, unlimited calls or unlimited data with your free SIM card.
Below is a list of mobile networks that will offer free SIM cards and links to where you can order them today.
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