Category: Economy
Eddie Cross: Zim should have a 5% transaction tax, halve PAYE & no company tax
I was joined yet again by Economist and former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Committee Eddie Cross to talk about financing a nation, tax collection and administration as well as electronic transactions You can play or download the podcast with the link below. Alternatively, you can download the podcast on WhatsApp […]
You no longer need proof of residence to pay your DStv using Conticash
A few weeks ago we received some pleasant news, several Bureau de Changes were now allowing people to pay for their DStv using RTGS at the official rate. One of these exchanges was ContiCash who are part of the Conti family of fintech services that includes a money remittance service and a payment gateway that […]
Ecobank account-holders worry as the bank says it will be backdating collection of 2% tax
It has been almost three years since Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube introduced his much-hated 2% tax. It’s still not clear why the tax was introduced, so many reasons have been given, but it is now an accepted fact of our lives. Sometimes something outrageous concerning the tax happens however and people are forced to question […]
Multichoice embroiled in a spat with the Nigeria tax authorities
Multichoice Nigeria, a subsidiary of the South African giant and pay-TV operator has had their Nigeria accounts frozen. They are embroiled in a spat with the Nigerian Tax authorities (Nigerian Federal Inland Revenue Services i.e. FIRS) who claim that the pay-tv operator owes them a staggering US$4.3 billion (1.8 trillion Naira) in taxes. According to […]
Eddie Cross: I’m excited about the Zim economy
Today I was joined by the former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Committee, Eddie Cross. We explored the recently launched ZWL $50 note, the contrast in policy and environment from Rhodesia to present-day Zimbabwe. The forex auction system and if it has been a success, his current capacity in financial policymaking […]
New ZWL $50 note comes into the market almost valueless
Earlier this year, former member of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s (RBZ) Monetary Policy Committee Eddie Cross said that Zimbabwe will soon get a ZWL $50, $100 and $200 note. “The only new note which is due to come in shortly is the $50 note, and I’m not certain when that is going to be […]
RBZ introduces ZWL $50 note into circulation
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has announced the introduction of the ZWL $50 (fifty dollar) note into circulation. “The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (the Bank) wishes to advise the public that the ZW $50 (fifty dollar) banknote issued on 6 July 2021 through Statutory Instrument 196 of 2021 will be introduced into circulation on […]
RBZ now working on securing your USD deposits
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) today released a statement outlining the deliberations of its Monetary Policy Committee. The document outlines the strides that the Reserve Bank has noted in the economy but also included mention of the RBZ working on securing USD deposits via the Deposit Protection Corporation (DPC). The full statement by the […]
Without proper local payments API, Zim’s eCommerce & Fintech companies resort to workarounds
If you are South African or in South Africa and want to buy something from a local eCommerce shop such as Takealot you have so many payment options when it comes to checking out. Besides the standard Visa/MasterCard options there is: The option to pay locally using Visa/MasterCard. By locally I mean the transaction is […]
The RBZ announces interest rates for deposits, it’s too little too late
It’s a well-known fact, the only bank Zimbabweans will trust with their hard-earned money is the National Mattress Bank-NMB. The fact that there is actually a bank called NMB is of course coincidental but still part of the joke. What is not a joke is the suffering we have endured at the hands of Zimbabwe’s […]
The Zim dollar can be converted worldwide according to Ministry of Finance
Deputy Minister for Finance, Clemence Chiduwa said in Parliament that the Zim dollar (ZWL$) is accepted regionally and internationally according to a report by OpenParly. The issue of the convertibility and regional or international acceptance of our currency as we speak now, the Zimbabwean Dollar is accepted regionally and internationally through the exchange rate. Not […]
RBZ’s Financial Intelligence Unit names & shames auction abusers
It has been a couple of weeks since the government/RBZ introduced its latest shock grenade in the form of Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021. They riled the entire economy by trying to dictate what exchange rate businesses use when conducting operations. They also banned USD cash discounts and any incentives to induce USD payments. This […]
Zim has ZWL$9.8 billion budget surplus? In this COVID hit economy?!
Earlier this week, Minister for Finance Mthuli Ncube said that Zimbabwe had a budget surplus of ZWL$9.8 billion in Q1 of 2021. A budget surplus is essentially the government making more money from income like taxes and the likes than it is spending. Now there are many ways to interpret this especially with COVID-19 being […]
One week of SI 127: experts & armchair economists were right
This time last week we got the news that the government had issued Statutory Instrument 127 of 2021. In SI 127 are a raft of new measures that govern the rules of forex in the country not only for those participating in RBZ’s Forex Auction but for the nation at large. And as I am […]
The authors of chaos, the RBZ says otherwise but SI 127 will harm businesses
Let chaos reign supreme!
Will rates fall & the black market die now that Bureaux de Change can now sell forex to individuals?
A hail Mary, wise decision or is this the RBZ trying to stop a hurricane with an electric fan?
The government is coming down hard on the informal sector
After spending months locked down and returning to low business the informal sector now has to contend with a government shakedown.
The 2021 National Budget: Tax relief didn’t go far enough
The Tax Relief measures in the 2021 National Budget didn’t go far enough as Zimbabweans are struggling to survive because of the COVID19 pandemic .
NDS1 is the government’s greatest show yet
Zimbabwe’s most recent economic revival plans are now a trilogy, will the NDS1 be any different from the last?
First Capital Bank launches remittance service – Zimbos can receive money from 150+ countries
First Capital Bank has announced the opening of a money transfer service. The bank partnered with Money Transfer agents RIA Financial Services, the 3rd largest remittance company in the world. Under what they are describing as an “exciting partnership” First Capital Bank will take advantage of RIAs 160 country & 385 000 location network. People […]
Victoria Falls Stock Exchange launching on Friday, Old Mutual will list there
So the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange, the one the government said was for companies to raise foreign currency capital is being officially launched this coming Friday. Its doors will open next week Monday. What we found to be interesting is that dual listed counters (you know those companies that are listed on the Zimbabwe Stocks […]
OneMoney added 337 000 subscribers in Q2 whilst other mobile money services struggled – What gives?
POTRAZ Q2 2020 report is out and whilst the mobile money industry generally took a big hit, NetOne seemed to do exceedingly well in the same period. EcoCash (the industry leader) and Telecash lost 7.6% and 34% of their subscribers respectively. In the same climate, one would assume that OneMoney would also be struggling but […]
Forex Auction results, Zim dollar nudges up slightly. Rate at 81.4965
Forex auction results for 22 of September 2020 are in and the Zim dollar has continued it’s “upward” trend. The weighted average this week has made a small improvement from ZWL$81.7076 last week to ZWL$81.4965 this week. Full Forex Auction Results 22 September 2020 are as follows: SME Auction #8 Main Auction #14 Amount Allotted […]
Forex Auction, Zim dollar sees another week on the up. Rate at 81.7076
The Forex Auction results for 15/09/20 are in and the Zimbabwe dollar has yet again seen an upturn. This week the weighted median average is ZWL$81.7076 which is a ZWL$0.9917 gain from last week’s rate of ZWL$82.6993. The climb is much more substantial than last week’s ZWL$0.6216 from the rate the week before which sat […]
President ED – State had to act against EcoCash because $8.4 billion was circulating outside the banking system
President Mnangagwa recently addressed a ZANU-PF Committee in Gweru and in that address he spoke on the long-running feud between EcoCash and the state. The President had some interesting things to say about the mobile money operator which has been accused by the financial regulator and state officials of being behind runaway inflation. We realised […]
Zimswitch announces partnership with Mastercard to “modernise national payments infrastructure”
Zimswitch today announced a partnership with Mastercard that they say will “enable the modernization of Zimbabwe’s payment infrastructure”. Whilst Zimswitch and Mastercard are yet to announce any joint products/services, there are hints as to what they will be working on. Zimswitch issued a press statement on the partnership and some of the things they highlighted […]
Forex Auction results, Zim dollar gains again, rate now at 82.699
The Zim dollar has for the second week in a row appreciated slightly. This week’s Forex Auction results show that the median average is ZWL$82.6993 against last week’s rate of ZWL$83.3209. Last week’s climb was by ZWL$0.0785, and this week there is a slightly more substantial climb of ZWL$0.6216 when compared to last week. The […]
Victoria Falls Stock Exchange gets licenced – ZSE says its coming soon
We’ve been following the story of the Victoria Falls Stock Exchange (VFEX) with a keen eye, and the most recent update is that VFEX is now licenced by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Zimbabwe (SECZ). The Victoria Falls Stock Exchange Limited (“VFEX”) is pleased to advise stakeholders that it has been granted a license […]
Foreign Exchange Auction, Zim dollar makes a marginal gain, rate at 83.32
The combined SMEs and Main Foreign Exchange Auction has concluded. This week the local currency made a marginal gain with weighted average sitting at ZWL$83.3209. Last week weighted average and effectively the rate sat at ZWL$83.3994 which is a very small uptick of ZWL$0.0785. This is the first time that there has been a bounceback […]
Foreign Exchange Auction results, rate now at 83.3994
The third combined Main and SMEs Forex Auction have concluded. The local currency slumped marginally again this week from ZWL$82.9184 last week to ZWL$83.3994 this week to the United States Dollar. The results are as follows: SME Auction #4 Main Auction #10 Amount Allotted US$960 791.84 US$14 064 871.90 The Highest Rate 88.0000 88.0000 The […]