EcoBank has launched a unified banking app that works across 36 different countries (all their affiliate branches), a first of its kind that allows clients to make and receive payments across Africa.
In a report first published by AllAfrica the EcoBank Group CEO Mr. Ade Ayeyemi had this to say about the app at its launch in Lagos:
At scale, this will be transformational for Africa. Through its purchasing power and Ecobank’s partnerships with Visa and Mastercard, the Ecobank Mobile App will be an accepted means of payment. With its removal of barriers to entry and affordable price points, the Ecobank Mobile App will empower the consumer to be on the move.
EcoBank’s Head for Consumer Banking added that:
With the Ecobank Mobile App, Ecobank customers can now make and receive instant payments across 33 African countries on their mobile devices.
By this statement, we can only assume that EcoBank is attempting to create a new mobile money ecosystem that extends across African borders. You would be able to instantly send/receive money from countries like Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria or Mozambique without red tape. It would be interesting to see how they will manage to work around all the regulations in Zimbabwe and the soon to be introduced bond note when making transactions from or to Zimbabwe.
We reached out to EcoBank Zimbabwe for more information where they informed us the service is not yet live in Zimbabwe as it was still being rolled out in phases across all 36 countries in Africa. They did, however, assure that Zimbabweans would have full access to the range of services the app intends to provide which includes: Airtime Top-Up, Mobile Money Transfer, Funds Transfer, Bill Payments, Forex Rates etc. 
We downloaded the app out of interest and Zimbabwe was one of the options for now so we will have to see when they finally get it up and running for their clients here as it is an interesting and new approach to mobile banking.
2 comments
& i bet we ecobank clients will pay through the nose for any transactions via this app as is the norm with ecobank for their transactions. what would be interesting when the roll out is done are the charges per transaction.
It. Is. So. Good. In Iterms. Of. Service. If. You. Keep. Your. Money. It. Will. Be. Safe. And. You. Can’t. Miss. It. Because. It. Is. The. Honest. Bank. Always. I. Remain. Without. Any. Question. If. I. Withdraw. Money. The. Phone. Tells. Me. The. Money. I. Withdraw. And. Also. My. Balance. Without. Enquiring