Dealing with customer care service can be frustrating, and this is increasingly calling for self-help options… in whichever way possible.

In early 2025, MTN Uganda and Airtel Uganda reinstated virtual MasterCard services for their customers, issuing new virtual cards valid for approximately a year.

The interesting part? It took MTN Uganda nearly a whole year to integrate the Virtual Card by MoMo into their MoMo App. While Airtel Uganda could have claimed the crown for promptly including the virtual MasterCard, branded as AM Global Pay Card, in their My Airtel App, they failed to provide renewal options. As we recently reported, you still have to contact Airtel customer support in order to renew your virtual Mastercard on Airtel.

By late March 2026, MTN had successfully streamlined virtual card management, in this case renewal, across both the MoMo App and USSD codes. Here’s the self-help guide for renewing your expired MTN MoMo Virtual MasterCard.

Renew Virtual Card by MoMo Using USSD Codes
Dial *165*70# followed by your MTN MoMo PIN.
Reply with Option 1 (Virtual Card by MoMo)
Reply with Option 5 (My Account)
Reply with Option 4 (Renew Card)
Reply with Option 1 (Confirm)…

Renew Virtual Card by MoMo Using the App
And even better, you can renew your MTN MoMo virtual Card in the “NEW MoMo” app with a single tap.

Download or update to the latest version of the MoMo App, sign in, then tap the ‘card icon’ on the top left corner, next to your ‘profile icon.’

The ‘card icon’ section manages your virtual Mastercard in the MoMo App. Opening the section with an expired card will prompt you to renew it. Costing UGX 1,000 to renew, the card update is instant and is viewable upon restarting the MoMo App.

This is easier to go by compared to Airtel Uganda, even though cost free. Both the MTN and Airtel Uganda virtual MasterCard, branded under different names, are valid for one year before renewal.