You know you can go crazy sending SMS at really cheap rates on the Safaricom network? Like really go crazy chatting with your friends all day long? You do.
Now your friends and family can join in on the fun too – and send text messages at really cheap rates.
Not the typical rate of 1 Shilling for every SMS.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on something I recommend and purchase it, I will receive a commission for the sale – at no extra cost to you.
But really low rates – 5, 6 or 7 cents low.
How? By buying them SMS bundles via the *188# Safaricom USSD shortcode.
What you need before you follow the steps below:
Contents
- Make sure you know the SMS bundle you want to purchase for the other Safaricom subscriber. Narrow in on the weekly or monthly SMS bundle you want to buy for them.
- Check your balance to make sure you have enough airtime. If your airtime balance is insufficient, top up.
- Get the recipient’s phone number.
Now, you are ready to begin the process.
Dial *188# buy SMS bundles for another Safaricom number
- Dial *188# on your feature phone, smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer (if using a modem or router)
- Select option 4: Buy for Other Number (you can also get to this by dialing *188*4#)
- Select your option / bundle you want to buy them
Reply with 1 to buy them a 7 day SMS bundle
Reply with 2 to buy them a 30 day SMS bundle
In this example, let’s assume you want to buy the person the 7-day 400 SMS at KSh 30 bundle, here’ what you’ll do. - Reply with 1: Buy 7 Day SMS Bundle
- Reply with 1: 400 SMS at 30 KSh
- Enter the other number e.g. 0705123456
You’ll see the following: Please confirm purchase of 400 SMS at 30 Ksh for 0705123456 - Reply with 1 to Accept or 2 to Cancel
Here’s a list of all weekly Safaricom SMS bundles
- 400 SMS at KSh 30
- 700 SMS at KSh 50
Here’s a list of all monthly Safaricom SMS bundles
- 1500 SMS at KSh 100
- 3500 SMS at KSh 200
What if the person wants a daily bundle?
Buy them airtime via M-PESA or use Sambaza to transfer airtime to them from your airtime balance, so they can make the purchase (for a daily bundle) themselves.
The cheapest daily SMS bundle on the Safaricom *188# menu costs Kenya Shillings 5 (for 20 SMS).
The bundle at the top of the tier costs KSh 20 (for 500 SMS).
The middle package costs just 10 Shillings (for 200 SMS).
So, just buy them / sambaza them KSh 5, 10, 20 or more if all they want is purchase a daily bundle.
If you don’t want to use the *188# USSD shortcode to buy SMS bundles for another number, you can use the alternative methods below.
- Dial *456# on your Safaricom line
- Select option 1: Buy
- Select option 6: SMS Bundles
- Select option 4: Buy for Other Number
Then just follow the steps above to buy texts for the other number.
OR
- Go to your Safaricom SIM toolkit menu
- Select Safaricom+
- Select Messaging Services
- Select Go SMS crazy
- Select option 4: Buy for Other Number
Then follow the steps above to buy any of the 7-day or 30-day SMS bundles for the other Safaricom user.
What if they want to check their SMS bundle balance?
- Tell them to dial *188#
- And then to select option 5: Check SMS balance
They’ll receive a text message with their balance details.
The text message will show how much SMS they have left. It will also show the date, hour and minute when the bundle will expire.
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