Category: Reports For Sale
The Ecocash Debit Card Is Only Available To Current Holders For Now
So last week we woke to the exciting news that the Ecocash Debit card was back. Instead of using your normal Ecocash balance as it did back in the day it will suckle from your FCA balance. We were even able to generate a VCN although since we had nothing in our FCA wallet we […]
GeneInsure Launches An Automated Licencing Machine.
GeneInsure a new kid on the block has become the first in the country to launch an Automated Licensing Machine. The machine as some saw it will revolutionize how vehicle licensing will be done in Zimbabwe. The ALM which was unveiled today 17 December 2018 by the Minister of Transport Honorable Joel Biggie Matiza which will […]
Africa Tech Summit Is Around The Corner, Here Is Your Chance To Win A Free Delegate Pass.
Ever heard of the Africa Tech Summit? Well, a few weeks ago when came I back from the AfricaCom Conference I came back bubbling and bursting with ideas. Thing is, the ideas are mainly for wholesalers, government departments and huge telcos ( most of the exhibitors at the conference only supply the mentioned only) and […]
Developers Say There Are No Jobs In Zimbabwe, Employers Say They Cant Find Good Developers, Are These Statements True?
The answer to the question above is yes and no. This latest paradox has affected this industry. While its true that good developers are hard to find, its also not true that there are not there in Zimbabwe. Excellent Developers are there, the trick is on how to scout for them. Developers on the other and […]
The Importance Of Interoperability – The Evolution of Payments Part 2: Mobile Money
This is the second of a three-part series on the importance of interoperability in the payments space. In the previous article we looked at the early history of electronic payments and how interoperability played a key role in the success of credit cards and ATMs. In this article we will take a closer look at […]
The Importance Of Interoperability In The Payments Ecosystem: The Evolution of Payments
This is the first of a three-part series on the importance of interoperability in the payments space. In this article, we look at the early history of electronic payments and how interoperability played a key role in the success of credit cards and ATMs. In the next article, we will take a closer look at […]
We May Have Been Using The Blockchain Term Wrongly. Here’s What To Say Instead
It seems we have all been singing the modern-day anthem of blockchain wrongly. At AfricaCom 2018 I was schooled about how we inaccurately use the term, blockchain. And I must confess I was one of a bunch of people who used that term incorrectly. The Blockchain term More often than not we use the term, […]
FBC’s Mobile Moola Has A Serious Security Flaw: Account Holders Don’t Receive SMS Alerts When A Purchase Is Made
[Updated] FBC have since issued their own response here. After going through the impressive five minutes it takes to open a FBC Mobile Moola account and linking the account with Ecocash, I decided to take it for a spin. After making a routine purchase I instinctively checked my phone to see how much had been […]
The 2% Transaction Tax Could Be Effective If Implemented Less As A Punishment And More As An Encouragement
The recently introduced tax on electronic transactions has seen some revisions since it was announced on the 1st of October this year. These revisions have all been welcome because they make the tax a little more bearable. The first revision was that $10 and lower values would not be taxed. The last one could be […]
President Mnangagwa As You Review The 2% Tax, Consider This: We Are Taxed For Moving Money From The Left Pocket To The Right Pocket
Dear President Mnangagwa I was quite pleased to hear you announce that the 2% tax on all electronic transactions will be reviewed. This is good news and this letter serves to point out some of the issues you may want to consider as you review this tax. Individuals are as important as companies, only poorer […]
Full Text: Veritas Says Mthuli Ncube’s 2% Transaction Tax Is Still Illegal
So the saga continues. Yesterday the High Court declared that the challenge to the new transaction tax that had been brought before it was not urgent and hence it would be dealt with in due course. The rational was that if it had been urgent then it would not have been filed two weeks after […]
MasterCard Boss Is In Zim, They Are Planning To Open An Office Here Soon
This is a press release with a bit of our own commentary. Mastercard President and CEO, Ajay Banga, this week visited Zimbabwe to show Mastercard’s strong support for the country’s drive to create a new wave of digital payments and inclusive growth. He outlined how Mastercard will collaborate with local private and public sector partners […]
Finance Minister Doesn’t Think The RBZ Is Involved In “Money Changing”, Promises To Investigate However
Another conspiracy theory that make the rounds is that the central bank, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is involved in the informal and illegal money changing practice. Now Finance Minister, Professor Mthuli Ncube has dispelled this, with him saying that he doesn’t think the RBZ is involved in that practice. He was saying this just a […]
Funny, The Reserve Bank Of Zimbabwe Is Blaming Itself For Currency Black Markets
It’s worrying that it took the past two weeks for the government to know the evils of a black market, yet in their nature, black markets are known to have a negative impact on the economy. We are now seeing the government starting to pay attention to deal with black markets. The President went as […]
Tendai Biti To Represent Another Citizen Who Is Taking Mthuli Ncube To Court Over The 2% Tax
Whilst some are already used to the recently introduced 2% tax, some are still fighting the battle to repeal it. Mfundo Mlilo who is director of the Combined Harare Residents’ Association is one such person who is not going to let it slide easily. He is challenging the lawfulness of the 2% tax introduced by Finance Minister […]
Mthuli Ncube Went Through With It: It’s Now Law To Pay 2% Tax Per Transaction
11 days after the Minister of Finance announced that there will be a revised tax on all electronic financial transactions in Zimbabwe, the new regulation is now enforceable. We are all going to be 2% poorer. When Mthuli Ncube first announced the introduction of this tax, he said that it was going to be with […]
Here Are The 8 Transactions That Wont Pay The Controversial “2% Per Dollar Tax”
Finance Minister, Mthuli Ncube came up with 8 exemptions to lighten the burden of the controversial 2% tax that was introduced during the monetary policy statement presentation. The following exemptions are on top of a provision that says, transactions below $10 are not charged the 2% tax. And a cap of $10 000 on the […]
Full Text: Mthuli Ncube Says Government To Maintain Bond/USD Exchange Rate At 1:1 To Protect People’s Savings
Despite yesterday conceding that he doesn’t want to wrestle with the reality ( the market forces) that bond notes (coins) are not at par with US dollars, Finance Minister Professor Mthuli Ncube, says he wants to maintain the pegged current rate of exchange of 1:1 in order to protect people’s savings. At the moment, the […]
Double Taxation When You Do A Bank To EcoCash Transfer, Mthuli Ncube Dodges Question
We know that men, in their nature do not like taxes especially when they don’t see their use. The 2% tax presented by Finance Minister last week has certainly increased the animosity towards taxes in Zimbabwe. Although the Minister came up with some provisions to lighten the burden whilst at the same time maximizing the tax […]
It’s Official, 2008 Is Back. Vice President Announces Price Controls
Vice President Kembo Mohadi has issued the riot act against businesses for ‘overpricing.’ I cannot pretend this doesn’t send a chill down my spine. This is deja vu except it’s not a feeling that this happened before, this actually happened before! Where were you? The Americans have this thing were they ask each other where […]
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube Finally Gives In, Says Bond Notes And US Dollars Are Not Equal
It has been an open secret that bond notes (coins) are not at par with US dollars, although the central bank, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe disputed that. Since the bond notes were introduced the RBZ has been fooling itself saying that the two are the same but the market disputed it, signified by the […]
President Mnangagwa Says Mthuli Ncube’s Measures Are Necessary And That There Are No Easy Fixes, We Have To Be Patient
It’s exactly 8 days after the Finance Minister announced the introduction of a new tax whenever we transact on electronic platforms. He of course made the announcement at the same event where the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced the separation of bank accounts into a dedicated RTGS funds account and another for […]
You Can Transfer From FCA To RTGS But Not Vice Versa, So Says Ecobank
Ecobank has a useful Q&A for clients regarding the recently announced separation of bank accounts into the so called ‘FCA Nostro and the FCA RTGS.’ I still grimace to think that J P Mangudya calls the RTGS account ‘FCA.’ Here’s Ecobank’s Q&A: Q: What is a Nostro FCA A: This is an account specifically opened […]
Zimbabwe’s “Cashless” Economy Trend Continuing; Mobile Money Transactions Grew By 37.9% In Second Quarter Of 2018
I’m sure we have all heard how Zimbabwe is ahead of the curve and we are already a “cashless economy”. Of course, if you are on the ground you understand that we are literally cashless but the trend is showing no signs of slowing down. Mobile money transactions grew by 37.9% from Q1 to Q2 […]
Mthuli Ncube Clarifies On Tax, Says Transactions Above $500k Will Pay A Max Of $10 000
The issue of the high tax on electronic transactions just won’t die. Here is a statement from Mthuli Ncube, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development: PRESS STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, HON. PROF. MTHULI NCUBE ON THE INTERMEDIATED MONEY TRANSFER TAX At the occasion of the presentation of the 2018 […]
If Banks Start Collecting Mthuli Ncube’s New Tax, They Will Be Breaking The Law: Veritas
The new tax on electronic transactions that was announced by Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncune has been the most topical thing this week. A few people have said the tax is not legal and almost all of them have been giving different reasons why this is so. Veritas has gravitas Veritas, a really cool legal […]
The Rich Get Richer: Why It’s Difficult For NetOne And Telecel To Catch Up To Econet
A few weeks ago my colleague published a good article that showed just how much of a lead Econet has on competing MNO’s. They are leading on every metric. The surprising one was that besides being the bigger network they are the only ones that grew in number of subscribers from 4th quarter last year […]
Quick Math: Transacting In Zimbabwe Is Now Above 3 000% More Expensive On Average
Generally there is outrage against the newly announced transaction tax on every electronic funds transfer transaction. The Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube adjusted the cut that government gets whenever we move funds around from a flat 5c per transaction to 2% of the amount being moved. Of course it’s clear that this is going to […]
Reactions To The Mid-Term Monetary Policy Statement
Yesterday’s Monetary Policy Statement was met with mixed reactions on various social media platforms such as Twitter, WhatsApp, Facebook etc. I am going to present to you just a few reactions from Twitter. Here they are; Zim Bollar Index @ZimBollar 22h22 hours ago It’s now Official: Zim now has two currencies. RTGS/Bond and USD(FCA) Alex T Magaisa 🇿🇼 @Wamagaisa 15h15 […]
The Great Contradiction: Mthuli Ncube’s New Transaction Tax Is Accelerating Us Back To The Past
So the big news yesterday was something we have always known but that Mangudya finally admitted: the USD is not equal to bond notes which are not equal to money that is in electronic circulation in Zimbabwe. The second biggest news was that the government is now dipping it’s fingers and getting 2% of the […]