Frequently asked questions
Grouped by the point in the process where the question usually comes up. If yours is not here, support will answer it in one message.
Before you start
Getting started
Do I need an account?
No, and there is nowhere to make one. We ask for the card number, the amount and an email address for the receipt. That is the whole data set.
This is deliberate: an account would be one more thing to create, remember and protect, and it would not make a top-up any faster.
Do I need to install an app?
No. Everything happens on this website, in the browser you already have. It works the same on a phone, a tablet and a desktop, and nothing needs downloading or updating.
Where exactly is the card number?
On the back of the card, printed as a long run of digits, usually near the bottom edge. Enter the digits only — no spaces or dashes needed, because the field adds the grouping for you as you type.
If the print has worn away to the point where you cannot read it, the card needs to be replaced where it was issued. We have no way to identify a card without its number.
Which cards can you top up?
Any nol card with a readable number: anonymous pay-as-you-go cards, registered personal cards, concession cards and premium cards. Registration status makes no difference to us.
Money
Amounts, fees and payment
What does it cost?
A flat AED 2 service fee per top-up, regardless of the amount. The total including the fee is shown in the form before you continue to payment, and again on the confirmation page.
What are the minimum and maximum amounts?
Minimum AED 10, maximum AED 500 per transaction. If you need more than the maximum on one card, run a second top-up — there is no limit on doing that beyond a daily cap of five per card.
How can I pay?
Visa and Mastercard debit or credit cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay. The payment happens on the provider’s secure page, which is also where you choose between those options.
Will my bank charge me on top?
We charge in AED only. If your card is issued outside the UAE your bank may add its own foreign-transaction fee and apply its own exchange rate. That charge is set by your bank and appears on your statement rather than on our receipt.
Can I get a VAT invoice?
Yes. Email us the reference code from your receipt and tell us the name and address the invoice should be made out to, and we will issue it.
Delivery
Timing and the balance
How long does the top-up take?
The payment and the queuing of credit take a couple of seconds together. The balance shows up on the card at your next tap on any reader in the network.
Why does the gate still show my old balance?
Because the card had not been written to yet when it read the balance. Tap again — the pending credit loads on one of the first taps after a top-up, and the display then shows the new figure.
If two or three taps at different readers still show the old balance, send us your reference code and we will look at the transaction.
Can I check my balance on this site?
No, and we would rather be honest about why: we cannot read your card. Only the card and the readers know the current balance. Anything we displayed would be an estimate from our own records, and an estimate of your money is not worth having.
Does the credit expire?
The credit we add behaves like any other credit on the card. Expiry, dormancy and validity are properties of the card itself, set by whoever issued it, not something we introduce.
When things go wrong
Problems and refunds
I typed the wrong card number. What now?
Contact us straight away with your reference code and the number you meant to enter. If nobody has tapped the wrong card yet, the credit is still pending and we can usually redirect it.
Once the wrong card has been tapped, the credit has been claimed and we cannot pull it back. Checking the digits on the form takes two seconds and is the only real protection here.
My payment failed. Was I charged?
No. A failed authorisation means no money moved and no credit was queued. You may briefly see a pending hold from your bank, which drops off on its own.
The payment went through but no receipt arrived.
The top-up still exists — the receipt email is a notification, not the transaction. Check your spam folder first, then email us from the address you used and we will resend it.
Can I get a refund?
If the credit has not been claimed by a tap, yes. Once it has been loaded onto a card and is available to spend, we no longer have it to give back. The refund policy sets out both cases in detail.
I was charged twice.
Send us both reference codes, or the amount and time if you only have one. A genuine duplicate is refunded in full, including the service fee on the duplicate.
Trust
Security, privacy and who we are
Is it safe to enter my card number here?
The number on a transport card is not a secret in the way a bank card number is: it identifies the card so credit can be added to it, and it cannot be used to spend the balance. Your bank card details are a different matter, and those are never entered on this site — they go directly to the payment provider.
What do you do with my email address?
Send the receipt, and reply if you contact support. We do not sell it, rent it or add it to a marketing list you did not ask for. The privacy policy is the full version of this answer.
Are you the official card issuer?
No. NolBoost is an independent private company offering a paid convenience service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by or acting on behalf of any transport operator or card issuer, and our service fee is ours alone.
Which languages do you support?
English and Arabic, across the whole site: the form, the error messages, the legal pages and the receipts. The Arabic version is laid out right to left rather than being a translation bolted onto a left-to-right page.
Still unsure about something?
Support answers in both languages, and a reference code gets you a straight answer in one message.
Top up nowOr just try it — the form takes about ten seconds.