Phone credit guide
Sending money for prison calls? Make each £20 go twice as far.
Prison calls to a mobile cost 5.50p/min. Calls to a ringyard 01/02 landline cost 2.48p/min. More of their money stays for canteen.
If you are scared for someone inside, call Prisoners’ Families Helpline on 0808 808 2003.
Get the numberUnlimited minutes. Stop any time.
How the credit works
Earnings, money you send, and a weekly cap.
Phone credit is not a separate pot you fill from outside. It sits in their prison account. Prison work pays a few pounds a week. Money you send through GOV.UK goes into the same account. Calls and canteen come out of it.
Prisons then cap what they can spend each week. On the standard regime the published private-cash limit is £21.75. Send more and it sits there. The cap is on money, not minutes. That is why the rate they dial matters more than another top-up.
The full sending-money guide is how money gets in, and what the cap does. This page is what that money buys once it is there.
Canteen and credit
The same £20. 443 more minutes.
Calls and canteen come from the same pot of money. The number they dial sets how fast it goes.
| Where they call | Minutes from £20 | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| Standard mobile5.50p/min | 363 | It runs out fast. None of the £20 is left for canteen. |
| ringyard landline2.48p/min | 806 | +443 minutes, or about £11 left for canteen. |
ringyard gives them +443 minutes. Or it leaves about £11 of the £20 for canteen.
Based on published HMPPS weekday rates for England and Wales.
Works with what you use now
GOV.UK money in. Lower-rate calls out.
- 1
You get a UK 01/02 landline by eSIM today.
- 2
They add it to their PIN phone list.
- 3
You top up through GOV.UK. Each minute costs them 55% less.
The price
One plan. One price. More money left inside.
Free number swap if prison security questions the line.
Straight answers
Before you send another top-up.
Does this replace the GOV.UK Send Money service?
No. You still send money through GOV.UK. ringyard gives you a UK 01/02 landline number. It costs them less to call. The same money lasts over twice as long.
Can I use this with Email a Prisoner?
Yes. Send them the new 01/02 number through Email a Prisoner. They copy it onto their PIN phone form.
What if prison security questions the number?
Tell us. We swap it for a fresh number for free. The prison still decides on every number.
Send the same money. Give them more time.
Put the number on their PIN list before the next top-up.
Get the number