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Help >>Payments and top ups>> How do I top up for the first time with my new key or card?

How do I top up for the first time with my new key or card?

If you’re a Boost customer, we’ll give you a key to top up your electricity meter and a card to top up your gas meter.


If you’ve recently switched to Boost and this is your first time topping up as a Boost customer, you’ll need to start by registering your electricity key – and your gas card if you’ve got a traditional gas meter as well.

Remember, you should run down any existing credit on the meters as far as possible. If there’s credit left on either meter, you’ll need to ask your old supplier for a refund.

To register your new key and card, put them into the relevant meters for at least a minute. The gas card will beep to let you know when it’s registered.

Now you’re ready to top up!

  1. For electricity and gas, take your key to any PayPoint Post Office, or Payzone , and ask them to top it up.
  2. When you’ve handed over your key or card and paid for the top-up, the shop assistant will load the credit onto your key or card.
  3. When you get home, insert your key or card into the relevant meter. Always follow the instructions on your meter.
  4. When you’re using your key to top up your electricity meter, make sure the arrow on the key is facing upwards. The new credit should show automatically.
  5. When you insert your gas card, make sure the gold-coloured chip is facing the meter display. Press and hold the red ‘A’ button, and the credit will appear in your meter.

We recommend you keep your receipt each time you top up, in case there’s a problem – for example, if the money doesn’t appear in your meter – and we need to investigate it for you.

These instructions are for traditional PAYG meters. Some energy customers have ‘smart’ PAYG meters, which you would top up differently.

What’s the minimum and maximum I can top up?

This partly depends on where you’re topping up, as different shops have different  minimum amounts. However, these are the usual minimum and maximum top-up amounts:

  • The least you can top up is £1.
  • The maximum you can top up your gas meter in a single transaction is £49.
  • The maximum you can top up your electricity meter in a single transaction is £50.

You can only top up in full pounds.

What’s the most I can have on my gas card or electricity key at any time?

The maximum amount a card can hold is £249 and the most a key can hold is £250.

What’s the maximum amount of credit I can have on my meter at any time?

You can have up to £255 credit on your electricity meter and £249 on your gas meter. If you try to top up more than this, the credit in your key or card won’t transfer to your meter.

Don’t worry – it won’t be lost. It will just stay in your key or card until the credit balance in the meter is low enough to allow you to add the credit without exceeding the maximum amount.

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