Mobile credit street-traders cash in

Low income or out-of-work residents are selling mobile credit on the street - in response to demand from those who cannot afford a minimum top-up of Dh25.

Poorly paid workers buy phone credit on Abu Dhabi streets in what some residents say is an eyesore. Delores Johnson / The National

ABU DHABI // Hundreds of expatriates are earning a living or supplementing their income by selling mobile phone credit on the street.

Etisalat’s minimum pre-paid top-up of Dh25 is unaffordable for some low-income residents, leading to an illegal trade in lower values of credit, for which a fee is charged.

Those selling use Etisalat’s credit-transfer system that allows customers to transfer their mobile credit to another number by SMS.

They text *100*mobile number*amount to be transferred#.

The traders typically charge 50 fils for a Dh5 top-up and Dh1 for Dh10 of credit.

“I lost my job a year back, so now I do this to finance my expenses,” said Bangladeshi Mohammed Sulaiman, who was standing on a street corner in Madinat Zayed.

“I have been working as an electrician for five years but had an accident and broke my hand. I was replaced and made jobless.”

Mr Sulaiman was unable to find other work and said despite having to pay Dh5,000 in visa expenses to stay, he managed to get by.

“I don’t want to go back. Even I can earn something here,” he said.

Mr Sulaiman pays Dh500 for a bed space, living with 21 others, and gets two meals a day.

He said he earned between Dh70 and Dh80 a day – up to Dh2,400 a month – selling the credit, which is more than some skilled workers made. As an electrician he made about Dh1,500.

Some residents object to the street traders.

Muzaffar Basha, a resident of Electra Street, said: “This is an eyesore, to see workers asking to credit mobiles at each corner of the building.

“When women pass they also ask them. This should end. It gives a bad picture to Abu Dhabi’s image.

He was looking at the corner on Muroor Road, near the Janata Bank.

The traders sell across the city’s more crowded areas such as Elektra and Hamdan streets, Khalidiya, Al Zahiyah, Madinat Zayed and bus stations, calling “balance, balance”, Mr Basha said.

But Haider Ali, a Pakistani who had just bought Dh5 of credit for Dh5.50, said: “I don’t have money to buy a Dh25 recharge card. Dh5 refill is sufficient for our needs for more than a week.

“The benefit of recharging from these workers is that we can recharge for few dirhams to fix our needs. Poor workers don’t have Dh25 to recharge.”

Mohammed Qaseem, an electrician, supplements his salary by selling credit.

“My salary is very low and I find it insufficient to finance my expenses,” Mr Qaseem said. “I have to pay for my accommodation and food.”

He earns Dh1,200 a month from his job and shares a room with 12 others for Dh300 a month.

“My duty finishes at 4pm then I do this to earn something. I could earn every day about Dh30 to Dh40 a day,” Mr Qaseem said.

“Room rent is very high in Abu Dhabi city. If you take a small room it costs Dh3,000 to Dh3,500 a month. How a worker can afford this?”

Telecommunications companies Etisalat and du refused to comment.