ApnaBill.com – recharge vouchers for your Mobile Phone and DTH [INDIA]

October 21, 2008 by Abhishek Bhardwaj
Filed under: Startup Review 

I always wondered why do I have to leave office or even the comfort of my bed at home to get a recharge voucher for my mobile? Because I just had to in order to be contactable on my mobile phone. And then repeating it every 15-20 days to either get a top up or a monthly recharge coupon. It was only until I discovered ApnaBill.com – I fell in love the very first time I used the service.

On ApnaBill you can buy recharge coupons of various type and denominations online without having to pay any extra fee. Before this I have only used the top up recharge service that is integrated with my ICICI Netbanking account. It is equally easy to purchase a top up from there and it automatically gets topped up. But the ICICI prepaid top up is available for select mobile operators and in select cities.

What I liked about this website:

  1. The product itself – I was so sold on the idea of being able buy a mobile recharge coupon online.
  2. The website is easy to use.
    • Login / Signup is optional
    • Select your service provider whether Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance, Tata Indicom or any other listed.
    • Select the type of coupon you want to purchase
    • Click the purchase button, proceed to payment via NetBanking or Credit Card
    • You receive the RECHARGE CODE on your phone via SMS, on your email and you can also note it down.
    • Use the code you received and wooop you’re done recharging your phone / DTH.
  3. Payment process is easy, seamless and has a lot of payment options including Net Banking Gateways, ITZ Cash and Credit Cards powered by Paysignet.
  4. The effort these guys have put in consolidating mobile and telecom operators in India across almost all major cities. They’re also providing recharge coupons for DTH operators online.

What I miss on the website:

  1. Coupons do not have description more than whether it is a monthly validity voucher, a top up voucher, special tariff voucher and the price. There should be a description about the special call rates and other features.
  2. Post paid bill payment. This is something they’ve promised and would be there soon.
  3. The customer support response time is long. When online purchase is concerned the customer support should be prompt. However, they’re still a startup and in early stages of operation but even an email response should not take more than an hour.
  4. If my phone could get recharged on validity or topped up by itself upon payment.i.e without me having to dial my service provider to enter the RECHARGE CODE, just like it happens with ICICI netbanking.

Despite a few deficiencies on ApnaBill.com, I would still reccommend it to everyone who wants a prepaid recharge coupon for their mobile phones. After all, it is far better better than running to the market everytime you need a recharge.

This curry is hot but still being cooked!

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Comments

One Response to “ApnaBill.com – recharge vouchers for your Mobile Phone and DTH [INDIA]”

  1. Mayank Jain on October 27th, 2008 8:39 pm

    Hi Abhishek,

    Thanks a ton for the review – I really like the critique. The “missing” points you have mentioned are definitely true and we are working towards resolving them – specially the email response times.

    I am glad that you like it.

    –
    Mayank
    ApnaBill.com Team

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