USSD Codes South Africa

USSD is the text-menu system you reach from your phone's keypad, and in South Africa every bank, mobile network, retailer and public service runs its own. There is no single national code covering all of them. Pick the provider or the task you need below: each entry opens a dedicated guide with the current code, what it actually does, and the date it was last checked.

Directory updated: 13 September 2026. Each code below shows the date it was last verified on its own guide. USSDCode.co.za is an independent guide and is not affiliated with any bank, network, retailer, lender or government department listed here.

Quick Answer and Most-Used Codes

Which code you need depends entirely on who you are dealing with. Your bank uses one string for cellphone banking, your network another for balances and bundles, and every payment or government service runs its own again. The table lists the most-used starting codes. Open the linked guide before you dial, because a menu that has moved will waste your airtime.

Browse by Provider or Service

Everything here sits in one of eight directories. Go to the one matching the organisation you are dealing with, rather than hunting for a code in isolation.

Browse by Task

Know what you want to do but not which code does it? Start from the task instead:

• Check airtime balance on any network
• Check data balance
• Buy airtime and buy data
• Check your bank balance by USSD
• Buy prepaid electricity from your bank menu
• Find your own cellphone number
• Do a SIM swap and get a PUK code
• Cancel unwanted subscriptions
• Send money to a cellphone number

Each task page compares the route across providers and links through to the provider-specific guide, so you do not need to know the code before you start.

How to Use These USSD Codes

USSD runs on any phone with a SIM card, basic feature phones included, and it needs neither mobile data nor Wi-Fi. That is exactly why it still matters: when the data runs out, when the signal is too weak for an app, or when you are borrowing someone else's handset, a USSD menu still works.

1. Open your phone's dialler, the keypad you make calls from. Not an SMS app, not a chat app.
2. Type the code exactly as printed, every * included and the final # as well.
3. Press call. A text menu should appear within a few seconds.
4. Reply with the number of the option you want. Menus differ between providers and change over time, so read what is on your own screen instead of memorising a button sequence.
5. Work quickly. Sessions usually expire well inside two minutes, and an expired one has to be dialled again from the start.

Two rules catch most people out. Banking menus only answer the cellphone number registered with your bank, and nearly all of them want a separate remote PIN rather than your card PIN. Network menus only work for the SIM you are dialling from. For the longer walkthrough, see how to use USSD codes.

Codes to Verify Before Dialling

Providers retire codes, redesign menus and push services into apps. The entries below are the ones we could not confirm against an official source when their guide was last checked, so treat them as unverified rather than current:

• Type every code yourself. Never dial one sent to you by a stranger, forwarded on WhatsApp, or read out by a caller claiming to be your bank.
• No legitimate bank, network or government service will ever ask you to read your PIN, OTP or password to another person.
• Codes beginning *120* or *130* are usually charged per 20 seconds by your network. Codes beginning *134* are generally free to dial, though rates are worth checking against your own network.
• If a menu asks for something you did not expect, cancel out of it. Then contact the provider using the number on its official website or the back of your card, not a number from the message that worried you.

Related USSD Guides

• What is a USSD code? A short explainer on how USSD differs from SMS and apps.
• USSD code not working: fixes for "connection problem or invalid MMI code" and timed-out sessions.
• USSD code safety: how SIM-swap and fake-code scams work and how to avoid them.
• USSD code charges: what dialling a code costs on each network.