Category: Finance
POSB launches dual currency Mastercard debit card and joins the prepaid USD card fight
The People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) has partnered with Mastercard to unveil new debit and prepaid cards. Okay, ‘what’s interesting about that?’ – you ask. Read on. Mastercard debit The more interesting of the two is the debit card. The Mastercard debit card allows customers to make dual currency transactions on the same card. That […]
The RBZ still accepting input on upcoming digital currency (CBDCs), participate
The Zimbabwean government is considering adopting a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has been researching this for a while now. Last year they notified us that they will be carrying out consultations and a consumer perception survey. When the survey came, the RBZ said it had to be filled […]
InnBucks announces fees for 2023. Charges dropped from 5% to 3%!
InnBucks, the Simbisa-owned Chicken Inn change app, and domestic remittance company has announced its rates for 2023. The highlights are that sending amounts above US$5 will now attract a fee of 3% down from the previous 5% and amounts below US$5 will only attract a fee of 1%. InnBucks tarrifs and charges January 2023 Effectively […]
VAT is up from 14.5% to 15% and new PAYE tax brackets for RTGS and USD for 2023
Yes, there has been a slight price bump on a lot of products and services overnight. Its retailers and service providers recalculating their pricing to accommodate the 0.5% increase in VAT from 14.5% to 15% under the Finance Act (No.2), 2022 effective 1 Jan 2023. This tax was originally 15% and was reduced to 14.5% […]
RBZ wants to make it easier to get a loan even if you are not a civil servant with the Collateral Registry
The loan space in Zimbabwe has been pretty rough for the common man for a while now. Whilst bankers and formally employed individuals with healthy bank statements could have loans availed to them, it’s not the case with the majority of either self-employed or informally employed citizens. The RBZ wants to come in and change […]
Thinking of asking the Ministry of Finance some questions? They gave us their number
I’m not going to lie these are interesting times. Just last week the RBZ was crowdsourcing thoughts and ideas on a Central Bank Digital Currency that they are working on. Now the top office that is the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development has shared its WhatsApp contact numbers that anyone can use to reach […]
FBC, another Zim Financial services firm to branch out to Botswana
Just last week ZB Financial Holdings officially launched a reinsurance company in Botswana and now FBC has joined the party as well launching their own reinsurance company in the neighboring country. FBC Reinsurance company is the bank’s way of expanding into the region. We are proud of being recognised as an investor friendly, lucrative, safe […]
RBZ needs your help with the development of a cryptocurrency. Just 33 questions
Remember a time when a number of cryptocurrency startups in Zimbabwe were banished from existence? And it was by the RBZ. Okay to be fair some of them were not as sound as anyone would have liked but the manner in which they were disbanded was pretty harsh. All the while in South Africa there […]
It’s not Mukuru with high charges. All Domestic remittances are expensive and it’s by design
Some quick math on social media suggested that Mukuru and how charges were inconsistent for domestic remittances. In the post, the math went something like this. 1/ Stolen…. A) Sending US$450 via Mukuru from Harare to Chipinge you are charged US$23. And the maximum you can send is US$450. That means if I were to […]
Can’t stop dreaming about the iPhone 14 or S22? Local microlender offering mobile device loans
My parents, like most working-class couples in the 90s turned their house into a home on credit. They got one furniture item from Pelhams and another from Nyore Nyore. All on lay-by. It took a few years but they paid it all up and it was on to upgrades. Had they been forced to buy […]
FBC launches Mastercard Virtual Cards you can register for from home
There is a lot that sucks about having a weak currency like the ZW$. I mean, this currency is not even internationally recognised. You can externalise as many bond notes as you like but they have no value outside the country. The millions in your local currency account are equally useless across the border. You […]
HIT is developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC), are universities making currencies now?
Apparently, the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) is developing a central bank digital currency. HIT Vice Chancellor Dr Kanhukamwe revealed this at the graduation ceremony held at their campus a few days ago. This raises a lot of questions. We have covered what central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) are and you will recall that they […]
Zimswitch new ZIPIT limits Oct 2022
Zimswitch has announced new limits for person-to-person transactions. This limit is now ZW$150 000 per transaction up from ZW$100 000 with the monthly limit now set at ZW$600 000. These new transaction limits will be taking effect from today, 10 October 2022. Zimswitch Statement Customer NoticeZIPIT LIMIT REVIEWDear Valued Customer, Please be advised that the […]
You asked, here’s how you start playing C-Trade Fantasy, learn how to trade on the ZSE and possibly win over $1,000
It’s almost a month since C Trade Fantasy went live. This means we will be seeing the first batch of players to win the promised monthly prizes soon. There remains the large prize of over US$1000 worth of ZWD to be won in 6 months too. The prizes are good and all but the actual […]
myRunner: Finally a place I can withdraw my PayPal balance
Zimbabwe is just a place that poses its own unique set of challenges especially when it comes to payments. We are either barred from using certain platforms because of sanctions or our financial systems just do not have support for some of the more convenient payment platforms that exist. Recently I had an emergency requiring […]
Econet Life micro pension fund was sorely needed but may struggle to gain traction
I wish insurance and pension talk was as fun as MK11 tournaments are. It may not be fun but we still have to have the conversation. Over 60% of Zimbabwe’s population is informally employed and without any pension cover. That means even when old age comes, most will have to keep working until they drop […]
Play C-Trade Fantasy, you could win over US$1000 as you learn how to trade stocks (ZSE)
I’ve been playing fantasy football for years now. I’m not really good, I have to admit. This season I almost didn’t play, missing the first 2 game weeks. As a result I’m number 43,217 in the Zimbabwean league. There are 47,578 people in that league and the last guy is sitting on -49 points. Negative […]
PostMoney has (almost) everything needed to succeed in the domestic remittance market, will it though?
There is no shortage of domestic remittance options in Zimbabwe. By remittance we are of course talking about the transfer of USD within Zimbabwe. Every one wants in on this lucrative business. Zimpost has been in this business for a while. About a decade ago they launched Zipcash, a local and international electronic money transfer […]
Send up to US$30 for only $1 in charges with Access Forex for a limited time
It’s hard out here. We could all do with every deal we can get and Access Forex is offering a sweet one right now. They are running a promotion where you can send up to US$30 within Zimbabwe for only US$1. This promotion ends on the 10th of September 2022. This promotion comes at ‘back […]
Econet’s 2022 Annual report. Beyond 5G and profits
The 2022 Econet Wireless Zimbabwe Annual Report is out. All 125 pages of it and they have been busy. There are some areas they touched on that caught my attention and need highlighting. Taxes It’s no secret the industry is heavily taxed. And it makes it very hard for players to break even let alone […]
Online forex traders, there’s a new broker with Zim-specific solutions in the market now
I’ve always been fascinated by the forex trade world. The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, by a huge margin. Where stocks traded per day reach around $200 billion globally, on the forex market over $5 trillion is traded. No wonder the Zim government is failing to rid our streets […]
InnBucks is back as a bank, is it still as low cost as it was before?
They told us their return was imminent last week and they weren’t bluffing, InnBucks is back. Of their return, they said, …announcing the return of Zimbabwe’s favourite low-cost transaction platform. We’re now up and running again, and we look forward to serving you even better! InnBucks on Twitter I can’t even argue with the ‘Zimbabwe’s […]
The RBZ invites dialogue on coming digital currency (CBDC), you have to be a part of this
The Zimbabwean government is considering adopting a central bank digital currency (CBDC). The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has been researching this for a while now. If you thought they were joking you might want to think again. In the Mid-Term Monetary Policy Statement released on the 11th of August, the RBZ updated us on […]
InnBucks set to make a comeback to a changed domestic remittance landscape
InnBucks rocked the nation when it launched late last year. Marketed as a loyalty and rewards programme, the service was hijacked by the public and made a domestic remittance platform. With only a 2% charge, which was the IMT Tax, the service was free and we warmed to it pretty quickly. The extensive branch network […]
[Updated] Senditoo partners Access Forex, resumes operations after shutting down services for weeks
You are probably familiar with Senditoo by now. What started with airtime transfer morphed into a fully fledged remittance service. Over the years we watched the service gain partners and increase its reach in Zimbabwe and across Africa. In Zimbabwe, Senditoo partnered with a number of banks, allowing their customers to collect funds at those […]
EcoCash transaction limits revised upwards, still low
You know the drill. Inflation is roaring and prices appear to be changing every day. Couple that with transaction limits on our preferred payment platforms and you can find yourself unable to pay for stuff, even when you have the money. Yesterday, it was Zipit raising its limits, today it is EcoCash’s turn. EcoCash has […]
Zimswitch raises Zipit limits
At this point, it’s now old news that our economy and the currency are not doing so well and a clear sign of that is basic goods and services cost more than the amount of money you are allowed to extract from your bank account. Zimswitch has announced new Zipit limits for person-to-person payments. Single […]
Does Econet’s 1130% profit increase even mean anything? Benefiting from relatively low tariffs?
So, Econet Wireless’ financial results for the year ended February 2022 came out. Everything looks good, revenue is up 50%, profit before interest, taxes and other funny stuff is up 54% leading to the big daddy, profit after tax rising by 1130%. In a normal world, that would be an unbelievably amazing stat line. Unfortunately, […]
Zim fintech startups! Check out this global challenge
Inclusive Fintech 50 (IF50) is a global innovation competition that aims to identify and elevate cutting-edge emerging inclusive fintech startups that have the potential to drive financial inclusion. IF50 uncovers high-potential fintech enterprises addressing limitations in financial services delivery for unserved or underserved customers. Over the last three competitions, IF50 has attracted over 1,000 eligible […]
ZWL Bank charges 2022: a necessary evil for the banks, a nightmare for the customer
The local banks have been updating their ZWL bank charges over the course of the last couple of months which reflects the state of the economy. In a normal country, these charges would be seldom altered for the local currency because those nations have some relative stability. In Zimbabwe, however, things are not so, mainly […]