My friends, I know it’s all you have been talking about. An image circulating on social media raises the question – are Zimbabwean Nostro/FCA accounts recognised as forex accounts?
Someone took a picture of a memo they had received at the bank they work for and it had the following heading – Local Nostro Card for International Use – Urgent Deactivation.
The memo appears to be an FBC one because it mentions Mobile Moola, an FBC product. Here’s the full text, if you missed it:
8 June 2023
Local NOSTRO Card for International Use — Urgent Deactivation
We advise deactivation of the following platforms/products with immediate effect:
• Direct load from customers’ NOSTRO accounts to the MasterCard Prepaid card EITHER by electronic means via the OBDX platform or manual transfers through the branches.
• Use of the MasterCard debit card product, inclusive of all MasterCard Debit Card products, that is Gold, Classic and the Business Debit Cards.
• DSTV payment via the Mobile Moola platform, the USSD Code *220#
Branches and all customer interacting touch points must take note of these developments and comply with immediate effect, taking cognisance of the following:1. All deposits/loads/re-loads to the MasterCard prepaid card product must strictly be EITHER cash OR proceeds of an incoming Telegraph Transfers ransfers (TTs)
2. No manual transfers must be processed from the customers’ NOSTRO accounts to the MasterCard Prepaid card, going forward unless the transfers are cash or TT ‘backed’, with rigorous checks and balances being carried out.
Please be guided accordingly, update your e-database and note that a separate circular to enhance /strengthen the control environment required in the processing activities hr rolled out as a matter of priority.
Many thanks to the brave FBC employee who took the picture, we thought. Until we reached out to FBC and they rubbished the above memo:
FBC says it’s fake news
Customer Notice: FBC MasterCard Fake News
Our attention has been drawn to social media messages purporting that FBC Bank intends to deactivate MasterCard services and other USD based transactions.
As a matter of fact, the reliable FBC MasterCard remains operational for executing local and international transactions, online as well as on all Mastercard branded terminals across the globe. This is in line with the banks unwavering commitment towards ensuring the provision of a secure, convenient and reliable platform for anyone in Zimbabwe and abroad to transact using the FBC MasterCard card.
In light of the above, we assure our valued clients that they can transact using the following products:
• Gold Debit
• Classic Debit
• Business Debit
• FBC Prepaid Mastercard
• Business Prepaid Mastercard
• ACCA Mastercard
• CIMA Mastercard
We advise our valued clients to disregard the circulating social media messages.
We remind our valued clients and stakeholders that all communications regarding FBC are channeled through our official platforms.
For further information or clarity please do not hesitate to contact us on the following platforms:
Toll-free : 220 for free – 080 800 25 I 080 800 26 (for Econet Wireless Subscribers)
WhatsApp : +263 772 419 6931+263 772 152 6471+263 732 152 647
Tel : +263 242 704481 I 2 and 761198
email : help(a)fbc.co.zw
Skype : fbc.help.centre
Facebook : FBC Holdings
Twitter : @FBCHoldings
Linkedln : FBC Holdings Limited
Instagram : fbcholdings
Address : 45 Nelson Mandela Avenue, Harare
Then there is the BancABC one
There is also one that’s supposedly from BancABC. An anonymous source within the bank told us that it is legit but we don’t have official confirmation that that is the case at the moment. It goes like this:
Good day,
Please take note of below operational modalities on cash management for branches and Kiosks with immediate effect;
Cash Withdrawals
- Cash withdrawals must be done against cash deposits or incoming TT receipts only.
- Cash withdrawals threshold limits are as follows;
• For cash withdrawal requests below US$500, approvals should be done by Branch Manager/Team Leader.
• For cash withdrawal requests above US$500, branches should send request to Treasury Front Office for approval and attach customer statement
• Kiosks should send all cash withdrawal requests to Roving Team Leader/Supervisor and adopt above threshold limits.- Branch management should check and verify source of funds by spooling customer statement before authorising cash withdrawal requests.
- Cash withdrawals against RTGS incoming Nostro FCA transfers are prohibited.
Prepaid VISA Card/Mastercard Prepaid
- Prepaid VISA Card/MasterCard Prepaid deposits must be done against cash deposits or incoming TT receipts only.
- Account transfers from Nostro FCA accounts into Prepaid VISA Card/MasterCard Prepaid Cards are prohibited.
Telegraphic Transfers
- TT payments must be done against cash deposits or incoming TT receipts only.
- TT payments against RTGS incoming Nostro FCA transfers or internal Nostro FCA transfers are prohibited.
City Hopper Bulk payments
- City Hopper Bulk payments must be done against cash deposits or incoming TT receipts only.
- City Hopper Bulk payments from Nostro FCA accounts e.g. IPEC, NRZ, City of Mutare, ZESA etc are prohibited.
Regards,
Organisation and Methods
Attack on the Nostro account
In both cases, it is clear that the Nostro account is the target. Although we will remind you that FBC says it’s fake news.
If it’s true like the anonymous BancABC source says, then there is a lot think about.
It appears that whatever forex is in a Nostro account should stay there. It shall not be mixed with other forex accounts, apparently.
Let’s all remember that the Nostro account in Zimbabwe is what other countries simply call a Foreign Currency Account (FCA).
Now, if what’s in that account is foreign currency then why are banks calling for it not to be mixed with the forex that they receive as cash when people load their Prepaid USD cards for example?
It is clear from the above memos that they consider the supposed USD in those accounts to be different. If A is not interchangeable with B, then A≠B.
If I loaned you a $100 note, I don’t care from which pocket you pulled out a note to repay me. It would be crazy if you said you had money in both pockets and I insisted on the $100 note in your left pocket. It would mean I know something about the notes in your right pocket i.e. they are counterfeit.
So, you tell me, what is actually in a Nostro account?
Summary of what the memos are saying:
- The MasterCard Debit card, which is the one linked to one’s Nostro account is being killed off.
- The Nostro account cannot be used internationally.
- Locally, bulk USD payments using the Nostro account are prohibited (In BancABC’s case at least)
- Transfer from a Nostro account to other FCA-denominated accounts is prohibited
- Cash withdrawals from a Nostro account are prohibited unless the funds in the account were deposited as cash or received via a Telegraphic Transfer. If it was funded from RTGS incoming Nostro FCA transfers, then no cash withdrawals. You may recall that in 2019 banks refused Nostro withdrawals for a time
Why though?
We don’t know yet. Could it be that Nostro transfers were not being settled on time, leading to problems when the payments were being made internationally? Could the delays that people experience when making Nostro transfers be a sign that something is broken?
This cannot be an RBZ directive because it devalues the Nostro account. That creates a huge problem for the RBZ because this shift will lead people to offload the USD in their Nostro accounts. If we can even call it USD.
Who is willing to bet their life that there is still USD in bank vaults to support the balances in our nostro accounts after the banks’ recent move?
I would guess that it is MasterCard and VISA who are behind this move and I believe they didn’t come to this out of the blue. There must have been irregularities with settlements from Zim Nostro accounts to warrant this.
Listen, we are all shooting in the dark at the moment. We shall know what is really going on when the dust settles. Whatever the case, may you find solace in the RBZ’s promise from back in 2019 – “We will not raid your Nostro accounts.”
However, do let us know what you think is going on here. Some of you guys have intimate knowledge of what is really going on here, do enlighten us.
Also read:
Domestic USD NOSTRO cards: Seems like govt employees were short-changed… again.
RBZ Clarifies On Treatment Of Nostro Accounts & Forex Cash Withdrawals
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What’s your take?