Category: Finance
NMBZ records half-year profit before tax of $4,8 million (Press Release)
NMBZ Holdings, NMB Bank’s holding company, recorded a profit before tax of $4 838 174 for the half-year ended June 30, 2017, resulting in total comprehensive income of $3 556 915. This was an increase of 35 percent compared to the same period last year, when comprehensive income stood at $2 640 274. The group […]
NMB launches range of life assurance products (Press Release)
NMB Bank has launched a range of life assurance products at the Harare Agricultural Show branded NMBLife. The new range of products embraces life assurance, a retirement plan and a funeral plan. Those who sign up for any of the three NMBLife products this week are being given an instant gift in addition to the […]
Like Zimbabwe, Germans had hyperinflation, & still prefer paying cash for everything
We came upon some figures about the use of cash vs cards (and mobile money in our case) in other countries and it made for some interesting reading. According to a recent study about 82% of all transactions in Germany are conducted in cash. The study was covered in a report by Quartz, which helpfully broke it […]
CBZ Holdings publishes half year financial results and they are interesting
The CBZ Holdings group announced the results today, the 3rd of August and with the current economic climate, the chairman, Mr Matimba can understandably take pride in them. The group performed well despite the negligible increase in profit after taxation which when you consider the adverse environment is quite impressive. The chairman noted that the […]
Cloning, Counterfeiting and Fraud in digital payments – what to know to stay safe
The second topic being discussed at the Mobile money and Digital payments conference at Meikles hotel is discussing Cloning, Counterfeiting and Fraud in mobile money and digital payments. The discussion was kick started by a presentation from Jaqueline Malaba, the business development manager at Visa Card. Her discussion touched on how digital payments are more […]
70% of Zimbabweans have limited access to mobile financial services – why is that happening and what can be done
The mobile money and digital payments conference has started today at Meikles Hotel. The conference is facilitating discussions on some of the issues in the mobile commerce ecosystem. The first presenter was Mr. D. Chinoda and he was talking about the state of the banking and mobile money sectors. The main topic around his talk […]
Steward bank customers sign a petition, threatening to take it to court.
We have said a lot about Steward Bank customer grievances and it’s getting monotonous, I know! But hey, it’s not our fault – we are obliged to say it when it happens and…it has! So on twitter, there is a #BringBackOurMoney! petition that has been circulating. It reads Thousands of Zimbabweans have been victims of mismanagement […]
Easily keep track of your financial life with these apps
Money is a touchy subject in most households and very few take the initiative to take a look at their financial life and see how it is doing. Before, it used to be hard and sometimes expensive to keep track of your financial life as it could have involved getting a professional accountant. Now with […]
Bitcoin 101: Understanding the basics – key issues
In late 2016, I got a call from the finance director of a listed financial services company. He and his managing director wanted to take me out for lunch. Shortly before that, the media had reported of an investment I had made in a blockchain start-up. I normally charge for advisory services, but I agreed […]
In Zimbabwe typically everyone with a bank account has a facebook account
In a survey we conducted recently we discovered that Facebook is still a big deal in Zimbabwe no matter what this author thinks: I thought Facebook was dead. 87% of respondents said they visited Facebook everyday, 61% of them do so at least 10 times a day! Of course this part of our ongoing survey […]
NMB giving you the power to keep track of your queries.
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Winter is upon us: NBS must now deliver those 10,000 houses for Zimbabwe
When I spoke to the National Building Society Managing Director, Ken Chitando in March I had just one simple question: Are you going to deliver 10,000 housing units by the end of 2017? Maybe it’s just me but 10,000 seems to be a really big number. Remember, this is 10,000 newly built houses, not stands, […]
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Press Statement On Cash-back Limits
PRESS STATEMENT ON COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE AND RETAILERS AND WHOLESALERS ON MEASURES TO ENHANCE REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AND USE OF PLASTIC MONEY IN BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS The Reserve bank of Zimbabwe (the “Reserve Bank”) wishes to advise that following engagement with retailers and wholesalers, individually and collectively through their respective associations, it has […]
Ecocash Zero Rates Merchant Payments On Thursdays…
Ecocash, arguably the biggest ‘bank’ in Zimbabwe, with probably well over 4m subscribers, has zero rated merchant payments every Thursday up until the end of June 2017. I’m not too sure whether this incentive needed to be thrown, as due to the cash crisis that has been prevailing in Zimbabwe, a number of us have been […]
New Ecobank Mobile App allows payments using QR codes
To be honest I wasn’t too excited to hear about Ecobank’s new Mobile app. I thought well just another bank app, what’s new about that? Oh they do have something new. The Ecobank Mobile app comes with Masterpass QR, the one click payment solution from MasterCard. What the heck is that right? Materpass QR is […]
PRESS RELEASE: NMBZ achieves pre-tax profit of $6,2 million
NMBZ Holdings, NMB Bank’s holding company, made a profit before taxation of $6 208 904 in the year ended 31 December 2016. Its banking subsidiary achieved a capital adequacy ratio of 23,3 percent, compared to 19,3 percent the previous year against the regulatory minimum of 12 percent. Its liquidity ratio was 40,1 percent, compared to […]
8 take home points from NBS media briefing
I promised to keep unfolding details about National Building Society within a series. The organization itself is eager to engage the public and tell their own story and so they organized a media brief this morning. I attended the event and I just want to share the headlines that spoke to me. Consider this Episode […]
Ecocash launches ‘Ecocash Home Wallet’ in UK
Techzim was recently alerted to the launch of Ecocash’s Home Wallet, a service that essentially allows those in the diaspora to access and enjoy local Ecocash services, acting as if they are here in Zimbabwe. Their announcement states that those in the UK would be able to register for the service on the Cassava Remit website, the remittances […]
3 Things Banks Can Do Better For Their Customers…
I’m not too sure whether I’m the only one, but at one stage I had an account with almost every bank. Yes, every bank. This was a follow through from the rough years of 2007-2009, where one had to be able to be “connected” in order to receive their payments instantly. Recently, the need for […]
Total Fuel Station and the separate fuel pump pricing…
Over the weekend, Zimbabwean social media was abuzz with photos of Total Fuel Station charging its customers in US dollars. Many feared that 2008 had come back and that this would be the onset of fuel ques. Here’s my take on it and why I think people should not fear, as well as why they […]
NBS committed to finance home ownership for Zimbabweans
National Building Society (NBS) is not just the cute new bank (building society) with a fresh and modern banking hall at Karigamombe Centre. Truth is, National Building Society is indeed the cute new bank with a fresh and modern banking hall at Karigamombe Centre but it is way more than that! If you do not […]
Bond notes worth more than their face value?
Bond notes have surfaced on a popular online shopping website eBay with a $2 bond note retailing for up to $15 at the time of writing. Interesting however, the sellers of these bond notes seem to be concentrated in Germany where the Zimbabwean currency was once being printed back in the day which can purely be […]
Strive Masiyiwa to take part in SnapChat IPO? – African telecoms mogul expresses interest in the company’s shares
Commenting on one of his recent blog posts, Masiyiwa recently highlighted the massive value being created by the IPO, particularly against the backdrop of its financial performance. He also expressed his interest in buying shares in Snapchat.
DStv subs & card payments are 2nd highest driver of forex use for Zimbabwe, trend is a cause of concern for RBZ
During this period Zimbabwean foreign currency payments for DStv and card transactions exceeded other transactions such as the importation of raw materials for the manufacture of products like cooking oil, maize imports and the allocation for machinery and telecoms equipment.
Here’s the 2017 Monetary Policy Statement from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s Monetary Policy Statement for 2017 has been presented by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Dr John Mangudya. It highlights the steps that the RBZ is taking to regulate monetary policy and activity in the country including measures to deal with the cash crisis in Zimbabwe as well as the foreign currency […]
RBZ States That Standard Chartered Bank Cancelling Use Of Visa Is Not Directive From Them
Today a notice appeared in the Herald that stated that Standard Chartered had cancelled, with immediate effect, the use of their Visa cards outside Zimbabwe, with clients needing to seek prior approval 72 hrs before departure. This has proved not yet to extend to online payments, though the fear and concern has been that this was […]
Standard Chartered Visa Card Cancellation Just For Travelling As Online Payments Go Through
After the article we posted this morning in regards to Standard Chartered bank cancelling Visa card payments outside of Zimbabwe, it has now come to our attention that this is just for the physical card, when one travels and not online payments, for now. Confirmation has been made by both a client who banks with Standard […]
Standard Chartered Cancels The Use Of Visa Cards Outside Of Zimbabwe…
Techzim today came upon a notification published in The Herald by one of Zimbabwe’s internationally owned banks, Standard Chartered, stating that the bank has cancelled the use of its Visa cards outside Zimbabwe with immediate effect. The action has been taken to “ensure best use of the increasingly scarce foreign currency resources” due to the […]
Econet’s US$130 million rights issue approved by shareholders
Econet Wireless Zimbabwe’s shareholders recently approved a US$130 million rights issue at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) held in Harare recently. A total of 6 resolutions which had been tabled were all approved by shareholders in the mobile network operator. With the green light from its principals, Econet will now, through the rights issue and […]
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe releases $15 million worth of new $5 notes, brings bond total to $88 million
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has introduced the $5 bond note, releasing $15 million worth of the new money into the market. The notes started circulating on Thursday 2 February 2017. The new note is purple in colour and carries images of the balancing rocks and giraffes, as well as the same security features […]