Electroneum, the only crypto with in-app electricity top-ups expands this service to four more countries
By: Olivier Acuña
Tags: Cryptocurrency, Fintech, Altcoins, Crypto, Blockchain

With four more countries now live in the Electroneum app for electricity top-ups for a total of nine, the award-winning cryptocurrency startup continues on the forefront of providing use cases that solve real-world problems for its users worldwide.

And with nearly 4.1 million registered users, the British blockchain startup is to date the only one providing electricity top-ups with crypto.

The new countries that went live today are Sierra Leone, Togo, Benin, and Ivory Coast, said Electroneum CEO, Richard Ells. Electroneum in-app electricity top-ups were already live in Nigeria, Mali, Gambia, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau.

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“Electricity and mobile phone top-ups are a great way for people living and working away from their home countries to help friends and families by sending them airtime and data or by refilling their electricity meters,” explained Mr. Ells.

Electricity and mobile airtime are today considered daily essentials worldwide. Enabling people globally to send airtime and electricity refills back home using the Electroneum app saves time and the cost of transportation.

Lagos, Nigeria.

People working away from their places of origin have been sending money back home for generations, which can be costly as remittance fees are anywhere between 5% to 10% of the amount being sent.

Users also save time and on expenses using the Electroneum app for electricity and mobile phone top-ups rather than travelling to a shop.

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“Topping up airtime and electricity with the Electroneum app costs a fraction of a US cent. In countries where the minimum wage is $2 to $3 a day or sometimes even less, to pay up to $5 for a $50 transfer makes a huge difference,” said Mr. Ells. “Top-ups are particularly useful for freelancers earning ETN on AnyTask.”

“We will soon enable people in Africa to purchase food items and construction materials with the Electroneum app and have them delivered to their families back home,” he added.

A market in Abidjan, the capital of Ivory Coast.

In many developing countries, airtime and data have become a medium of exchange. “This means immigrant workers can send their families airtime instead of a transfer through Western Union, for example, and the recipients can then trade that airtime for funds they then cab use to purchase food and other everyday essentials. And they can also top-up electricity meters remotely,” Mr. Ells explained.

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In July of this year, Electroneum became the first cryptocurrency to enable electricity top-upsusing the ETN app. To date, in fact, no other crypto project has this function.

Late last year, the UK-based cryptocurrency project became the first to enable mobile airtime and data top-ups with the Electroneum app.

And on 25 November 2020, Electroneum became the largest crypto startup to offer mobile airtime top-ups with coverage across 163 countries.