New Econet and NetOne Relationship Is A Smart Move For Both Operators, Here’s Why

Farai Mudzingwa Avatar

The recent move by Econet and NetOne  (supposing they are working together) to open EcoCash registration to NetOne users could be a stroke of genius by both operators. With NetOne effectively out of the mobile money race and Econet looking to open up EcoCash to external subscribers both operators stand to benefit from this move.

EcoCash spreads its wings…

This is a smart move and it allows EcoCash to grow without being attached to Econet. Econet probably thought, ‘why not allow users from other networks to join our service and outright monopolise the mobile money field’.

Having already enticed customers to their platform when EcoCash was still exclusive to Econet, they are now expanding to accommodate the few users who were actually using OneWallet. We are not sure if Telecel users will be able to register their lines on EcoCash but if they have already welcomed NetOne it’s only logical that Telecel will be invited to the table soon.

Econet might also be using this as an opportunity to dodge the governments ultimatum on interoperability. If EcoCash is available on all platforms, is this not an indirect solution to the government’s ultimatum on interoperability? Even better, EcoCash is an already existing service which has a staggering 97% of the mobile money market being opened up to all networks.

How does this benefit NetOne?

NetOne is essentially admitting that they have lost the battle when it comes to mobile money. This move by NetOne will help reduce their churn rate (the annual percentage rate at which customers stop subscribing to a service). The risk of using both lines was that users could easily adopt other Econet services because they were already in the ecosystem.

Now with only one line serving your EcoCash needs, the chance of going to Econet has now been reduced. Now users who enjoy One-Fusion have no need to migrate to Econet for EcoCash or to have a secondary SIM since their NetOne line now covers both services.

So NetOne will essentially be protecting and shielding it’s subscribers from using Econet voice, text and data services. This makes sense because there is probably nothing to selvage in the mobile money space anymore for them. Tactically they are doing the smart thing of playing to their strengths.

A Win-Win?

It seems both Econet and NetOne stand to benefit from this but only time will tell if this is the start of a fruitful initiative. It will also be interesting to see if the government responds to this positively. Let’s hear your thoughts in the comments section.

11 comments

  1. Serious Customer

    Wrong move for Netone, it actually means they have been swallowed by Econet. Very soon customers Will be asking themselves why not totally move to Econet after testing their ecosystem but smart and cunning move by Econet to try and dodge operability kkkk

    1. Allaz

      They were NEVER gonna catch Ecocash at this stage. Remember the ability to cash out anywhere was one major feature that helped drive Ecocash subscriptions – and cash out was how agents made money too but it’s a phenomenon that does not exist anymore. We only started shopping with Ecocash when the cash completely ran dry – but for a long time Ecocash merchant purchases were pretty rare – it was all about cash in and cash out. So building another mobile money service now – what do you build it on? Where do you get new agents? What’s the payoff for them to sign up? Even the Ecocash agent itself is essentially a zombie now – THE WALKING DEAD! When was the last time you needed one? Now looking at it from the user’s perspective, what’s the payoff for the customer if only half the places that support Ecocash actually support One Money? It’s was an unwinnable struggle for One Money. I think Techzim’s analysis is spot on. When One Fusion was at its peak I’m sure you had friends and/or family tell you NetOne is what they prefered but they only stayed with Econet for Ecocash. Now they can just use their NetOne line and have Ecocash on that same line. It sucks that Ecocash will essentially become a mobile money monopoly – but they did do the legwork early-on while others were napping and also benefited from a bit of luck with this cash crunch. Fortunately we are not short of regulators in Zimbabwe to keep them honest.

      1. Anonymous

        Agents are still very much alive and kicking my friend. Remember, the majority were small traders with tuckshops etc. These have now moved to sell their wares via cash-outs. The result, these guys earn Agent commissions and they sell their products.

  2. Techzim Follower

    I am sorry to say this but truthfully speaking, everything owned by the Government of Zimbabwe has been a flop. Econet is just way ahead in terms of their marketing strategies only and it has helped them a lot.

  3. Giga

    Kkkkkk. Interoperability of mobile money swallowed. Only one mobile money platform will exist in Zimbabwe from now onwards. Wont be long before Telecash hooks on and get swallowed too because they will lose customers to both Econet and Netone if they stay by themselves in the cold. Steward bank will obviously benefit the most at the end of the day and the likes of NBS and other similar banks will simply run out of customers pretty fast.

    Yah ! That Ecocash App did all the tricks !! We saw it coming once the Ecocash app got onto the market and was allowed to mature nicely while only using Econet customers. Now it can spread all over including international if they integrate with other mobile money operators where diasporans exist in large numbers. Game done. Here is a potentially explosive international mobile money platform. Good for Zimbabwe for sure.

  4. Wedaz

    100% true to the fact that this is a win win situation for both MNO. But the only challenge is they won’t be any competition on the part of Econet. In the absence of competition, innovation & improvement may slow down, which is a big concern. Second issue is on the capacity of the Ecocash services. Temporarily the system may be overloaded with addition of 3 million plus new subscribers from the 2 service providers joining them. Obviously, all of Telecash & OneWallet customer will jump to the widest & best Mobile Money Service – Ecocash. Not sure the preparedness of Ecocash system on this. But overally the loyal NetOne & Telecel subscribers have something to smile about. No need to keep 2 lines for Ecocash & other for Voice & Data.

    1. Allaz

      Yah I think ecocash should now be spun into it’s own company not just a business unit. Maybe that will release it to invest more on capacity??? Or maybe it’s already like that. The competition thing is definitely a concern going forward. They are essentially a monopoly now.

  5. B

    I’m assuming netone will get a commission of some sort for transactions done using a netone line so it’ll be new revenue for them

  6. Muta

    Why can’t we use Ecocash on Google Play Store just like M-Pesa in Kenya?

    1. mwalimu

      Foreign currency shortages in Zimbabwe and plenty currency in Kenya

  7. Kwenga

    Speaking for myself I. Still using econet for the ecocash service and I know econet will never make ecocash a stand alone platform because some of us would stop using their mobile phone services. Ecocash has just been handed access to over a million more subscribers I don’t see a win win except for a Econet win, Ecocash win situation.

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