Category: Finance
RBZ gold coin: Who can get one, can it buy anything & everything else you need to know
The Zimbabwean Gold Coin has arrived, and the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has released the specifications as well as the powers that the new financial tool has. The statement from the RBZ reads as follows: INTRODUCTION OF GOLD COINS Pursuant to the resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee of 24 June 2022 to introduce […]
Forget gold coins, this local firm wants you to preserve value in cattle
Value preservation is the name of the game if you want to exist in Zimbabwe. With the local currency being a meme coin at this point, losing value faster than it can be printed, every Zimbabwean is trying all they can to retain value. To this end, Zimbabweans cannot be faulted for lacking inventiveness. Everyone […]
You can now receive PayPal transfers directly into an EcoCash USD wallet
EcoCash has announced that it has partnered with PayPal for users in Zimbabwe to receive international remittances through its existing partnership with global cross-border remittance giant Thunes. “Leveraging our Hub partnership with Thunes, we are excited to add Xoom, a PayPal money transfer service, to our growing number of remittance partners to Zimbabwe,” . EcoCash […]
ZIPIT monthly limits increased to $400,000
The fight to stop forex dealers from wrecking the economy continues. The Zimbabwean govt is not ready to let you transact to your heart’s delight. There have to be limits on the amounts you can send to other individuals, we can’t have you use the system to purchase forex on the black market, can we? […]
Nedbank customers, swipe limit is now at ZWL$1.5 million
Nedbank Zimbabwe has, in an SMS to customers, said that it has upped the point of sale (POS) swipe limit to ZWL$1.5 million for individuals and ZWL$2.5 for corporates. Dear Client, We advise that our daily swipe limits have been reviewed to ZWL1.5 million for individuals & ZWL2.5 million for Private Banking, Corporates/SMEs. Nedbank Zimbabwe […]
World Remit to stop direct bank transfers for Zimbabwe starting month-end
Global money transfer agent, World Remit has announced that it will no longer allow its customers in Zimbabwe to receive money directly into their bank accounts. The statement from World Remit reads as follows: At WorldRemit, we pride ourselves on offering the best possible service to our customers. Sometimes that means removing services where we […]
ZB Bank has rebranded & says it wants to put a smile on its customers’ faces
ZB Bank Zimbabwe yesterday held an event where it unveiled its new company branding and direction to shareholders, customers and the press. Before I go any further, I would like to commend ZB for the most “to the point” presentation I have ever witnessed. The CEO Shepherd Fungura was the only one from the bank […]
Mthuli Ncube wants MPs to forgive $107 BILLION govt overspent without approval
The Minister for Finance, Mthuli Ncube had, according to the Financial Adjustments Bill 2022, overspent by ZWL$100,690,788,418 in 2020 and ZWL$6,783,930,028 in 2019. Furthermore, the Ministry of Finance is now seeking that this unauthorised spending is pardoned by Parliamentarians. The fact that these figures are coming out now is in direct violation of section 307 […]
EcoCash physical Mastercard is back (again) & it still can’t do online payments
A couple of months ago EcoCash announced that it was entering the domestic remittance game as well as pushing the company’s FCA wallet. This was quite a surprise because the prevailing assumption was that EcoCash was in some sort of conflict with the regulators. However, as it turned out, this was not the case as […]
RBZ lifts Metbank’s dealer licence suspension
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has announced that it has lifted the suspension of Metbank Limited’s dealer licence after the conclusion of its inquest into the bank’s alleged breach of Exchange Control Regulations. The statement on Metbank’s current status from the RBZ reads as follows LIFTING OF SUSPENSION OF METBANK’S AUTHORISED DEALERSHIP LICENCE The […]
Standard Bank launches Africa Trade Index revealing the continent’s US$70 Bil trade opportunity
Tuesday 7 June 2022 will see the inaugural publication of Standard Bank’s Africa Trade Barometer. The barometer is expected to become Africa’s leading trade index. Present in 20 African markets and supporting trade activities in many more, Standard Bank enjoys a uniquely privileged view of Africa, “especially its rapidly emerging enterprises heavily focused on domestic, […]
Bereka, the local startup delivering Mukuru remittances to your doorstep
While browsing on the interwebs last week, I came across a startup called Bereka which is saying that it is offering to deliver your Mukuru voucher cash to your doorstep. Now, I was immediately blown away because if you have ever experienced Mukuru or any other remittance service’s queues you know that on a bad […]
Govt’s 4% forex tax spoils OneMoney Remit’s 0% fee promotion
OneMoney’s domestic remittance service (OneMoney Remit) has announced that it is no longer charging its 3% fee for the first transaction you make and if you are sending anything US$10 or more. Introducing the OneMoney Remit Zero Charges promotion!! Send at least USD 10 locally using OneMoney Remit and enjoy: · Zero charges for your […]
EcoCash is down
Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile money operator, EcoCash is experiencing some technical challenges this morning as Twitter is awash with customers saying they can’t perform transactions, all the way to being unable to access EcoCash via its *151# USSD. “Our sincere apologies for the unfortunate experience. Kindly note that the EcoCash platform is currently down, our technical […]
First Capital & EIB EUR12.5 mil loan facility: Collateral, interest rates & startups
First Capital Bank today announced that it was a beneficiary bank of the European Investment Bank‘s (EIB) medium – long term lines of credit (4 to 7 years) aimed at giving Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) a valuable USD lifeline. Before we get into that it was interesting to see that Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe […]
First Capital & European Investment Bank bring EUR 12,5 mil credit line for SMEs
First Capital Bank Limited in partnership with the European Investment Bank and the European Union have today secured a developmental line of credit to the tune of EUR 12,5 Million (USD13.7 million). The funding is set to develop eligible investment projects undertaken by Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and MidCap companies under First Capital Bank […]
TECHNIKARI with King Kandoro: Zimbabwe’s economy is a Mshikashika
The recent policy measures that were put in place by the government left many scratching their heads as to what is going on in Zimbabwe. The most confusing one of them all was the banning of credit which was overturned, but not as loudly as loans were banned. To get stuck into the immediate and […]
Fintech startups! Check out the US$50K Last Mile Money Accelerator
At Last Mile Money, our mission is to bring world-class financial services — like high-interest savings, auto payout insurance, radically affordable remittances, and more — to millions of last-mile users. We believe that thoughtfully designed solutions can help build financial resilience and create pathways to a better life for millions of last-mile users. Today, this […]
Blockchain startup Uhuru Wallet included in RBZ Fintech Sandbox
While the blockchain is often touted as a game-changing technology that is capable of disrupting traditional finance, it is yet to fulfil this promise. The race to satisfy this pledge is still on but numerous obstacles such as regulatory uncertainty are standing in the way. For different reasons, regulators in some parts of the world […]
StanChart increases online & bank app transfer limit to ZWL$25 million
Standard Chartered Zimbabwe (StanChart) has announced in a circular to customers that it has reviewed its transfer limit via its online and mobile application banking platforms to ZWL$25 million. The message from StanChart about the transfer limit reads as follows: Dear Valued Client, We are pleased to advise that we have increased our funds transfer limits […]
SADC based startup Thumeza expands across Africa with Lori Systems partnership
Small and large-scale logistics players across Africa and other emerging markets struggle to access working capital credit to fulfil the growing demand. African e-logistics companies play a key role in reducing transport costs and delays while improving the quality of service along transport corridors. Logistics startup Thumeza has announced a partnership with Lori Systems which […]
Need startup funding? Check out this new local crowdfunding platform
On the 13th of April 2022, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe approved Lloyd Crowdfunding, a subsidiary of Lloyd Corporate Capital, to operate within the guidelines of the Fintech Regulatory Sandbox. Crowdfunding for business is the online offering of financial securities of a private company to a group of people for investment. Crowdsourcing makes use of […]
Suspension of loans: Bank charges are going up, here’s why
We have been going down the rabbit hole of the new “economic measures” and the most confusing one of them all was the suspension of lending or loans. I say this because Zimbabwe has not been a lending market because of the currency gymnastics that have been a feature of the last decade. One moment […]
4% forex tax & withdrawal levy: Forever banishing the idea of banking USD
Wangu wangu wangu! Might be an overplayed meme at this point, but it perfectly captions the response I and many others had to the new economic measures presented by the President late last week. Chief among those measures was an incentive for the use of local currency by slapping a 4% tax on forex transfers […]
FBC Bank announces new Mastercard US$60 limit security feature
FBC Bank has, in a statement, said that it is taking a proactive approach to guarding customers against fraud with a new US$60 limit security feature for its USD Mastercard platform for online transactions. FBC’s statement on the Mastercard security feature and limit reads as follows: FBC Bank continues to transform with global e-commerce products […]
We ran into BancABC at ZITF 2022
We ran into BancABC at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair ZITF 2022. Shingai Vutoyi one of the Branch Managers for BancABC was kind enough to talk us through what the bank was up to at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF 2022). You can watch the tour of BancABC’s booth at ZITF 2022 with the […]
Zimswitch at ZITF 2022: NOSTRO EFTs, debit orders, wallet on POS & more
The National Payments Switch, Zimswitch was an exhibitor at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF 2022). It appears that their main mission for this year’s edition of the ZITF was to interface with customers (both corporate and individual) about who they actually are and what they do. For all those who might not be aware […]
Freshly RBZ approved Access Forex gave us a tour of their ZITF2022 Booth
Earlier this week we reported on Access Forex getting Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) approval to resume domestic (city to city) remittances. During our travels at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF2022), we got a chance to talk to Shingai J. Koti, the Chief Marketing Officer at Access Forex. She was also kind enough to […]
The RBZ suspended InnBucks and Access Forex domestic transfers temporarily. Let’s discuss what that was all about.
In what came as a shock to most, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe ordered Simbisa Brands (Private) Ltd to cease operating InnBucks, its rewards and loyalty program (money transfer service) last week. The RBZ was concerned about the money transfer service part of InnBucks. According to the RBZ, InnBucks did not have the necessary approvals […]
RBZ gives Access Forex the green light to resume local transfers
Local domestic and international money transfer platform Access Forex is back in the business of local remittances after a few days of suspension due to pending Exchange Control regulatory approvals. This comes after the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe gave the company the green light to resume domestic foreign currency remittance activities after processing its licensing […]