We’ve had several readers message us in recent months on their struggle to pay their home utility bills.
However, do not fear if you cannot work out the price of your gas, electricity or telephone bills as we will show you the most convenient ways to pay.
For most foreigners living in Iran, the price of paying your bill is the same as that of locals. Unlike some other countries around the Persian Gulf, there are no extra charges for foreigners paying their bills.
Now, understanding which bill which is is another hurdle.
Utility bill colour-coding
Orange bills are for gas, with the little gas symbol in the top left, while water is also blue coloured. However, the telephone is also blue, to confuse matters. And finally, electricity bills are off-white with a little electricity symbol.
Paying Manually via ATM
For those of you who prefer a paper receipt (like me), you can quickly pay your bill using one of the many ATMs across Tehran.
Using your locally issued debit card, find an ATM which has the little scanner jutting out the front, and select the “bill payment” option and select “barcode”, et voila if the machine reads your bill correctly the payment amount will be presented on screen. Select, “pay”, or something similar and a little paper receipt will pop out of the machine.
Pay using “Ap” App
The name of this application is Asan Pardakht which is one of the most significant fintech applications currently in use across Iran. Luckily after some research, we’ve found the app also works in the English language!
The great news for people not familiar with the app is that it is a simple app to set up and is available for both Android and iOS respectively.
Many of the functionalities of transferring money to another person’s card, paying a mobile bill by entering your mobile number, as well as paying your utility bills via its inbuilt scanning option.
The application also has several extra options to make the lack of Persian skills less an issue for those living here. With the app, you can book train tickets, local flights and even buy home insurance!
The application is available through the Google Play Store here and the local Apple iOS store here.
**Several people have tried and tested the Android version of “Ap” but have not had experience with the iOS version.