More than 20 million airtime advance requests have been serviced by ‘Pasavute’, an offering available from Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM).

This is according to South African based Net1 Mobile Solutions (N1MS), which in partnership with privately owned African mobile marketing and VAS (Value Added Services) company Supa Pesa, has rolled out the service for TNM in Malawi.

Pasavute allows subscribers of TNM to buy airtime in advance and pay the face value of the airtime voucher at a later stage. Subscribers can purchase one advance airtime voucher at a time while they are charged a nominal service fee per airtime voucher purchased.

“N1MS’s unique and innovative pre-qualification and scoring engine evaluates whether or not a customer qualifies for the airtime advance service, and the commensurate voucher value for which they qualify. Subscribers are therefore able to borrow only what they can afford to repay,” says Net1 Mobile Solutions in a statement.

“Pasavute is available via the USSD and SMS channels provided by TNM, and both channels are free to the customer. The TNM subscriber is only charged a service fee when an advance airtime voucher is purchased,” adds the company in a statement.

And the service has been a hit in Malawi as Net1 Mobile says 201,000 loan requests are being received and processed in a single day.

“The overwhelming response to Pasavute from 748,000 subscribers of TNM is a resounding endorsement that this innovative solution responds directly to a problem faced by Malawians on a daily basis,” says Philip Belamant, managing director of Net1 Mobile Solutions.

“Pasavute makes it possible for subscribers to stay connected when they need it the most, setting TNM apart as a network that takes care of its customers in their time of need,” adds Belamant.