Tag: Mobile money
Video: ICT space in Zimbabwe vs Zambia
In this comparison we take a look at how the ICT side of Zimbabwe compares to that of Zambia. Zimbabwe has the smallest of leads on the telecommunications side however Zambia had a HUGE lead in mobile money. You can get the details in the video Quick NetOne, Telecel, Africom, And Econet Airtime Recharge Number […]
EcoCash announces regional & international remittance partnerships
EcoCash has increased its presence in the remittance space through partnerships with regional mobile operators and international money transfer companies.
More details revealed regarding EcoCash rewards – Here’s what’s up for grabs
We wrote an article on EcoCash Rewards – a promotion by EcoCash that rewards the mobile money service’s users for transacting. Unfortunately, that piece was devoid of detail and as a follow up to some of the questions readers have asked in the comments section, I’ve decided to write a follow up. PS: For every […]
New ZW$35k limit for mobile money is a decent improvement – Here’s how RBZ and service providers can make it consumer-friendly
So yesterday, it was announced that the ZW$5000 daily limit for transacting has been lifted. In its place will be a ZW$35 000 weekly limit which you can exhaust in one day if you want. Whilst this is an improvement on what was in place there are still too many potential problems that could arise […]
EcoCash ZW$5,000 daily limit relaxed but new restriction added
Back in September a seriously prohibitive ZW$5000 daily limit was placed on EcoCash subscribers. The huge blow disincentivised people from using EcoCash since it meant one simply couldn’t make certain basic payments using the mobile money service. EcoCash and OneMoney have announced that the limit will be getting relaxed – from ZW$5000/day to ZW$35 000/week. […]
Cassava bemoans regulatory pressures placed on EcoCash in investor update
Cassava Smartech -EcoCash’s parent company- issued a trading update outlining the the first half of the year and what investors and the general public can expect going forward. In the update there are a number of interesting points to harp over and one of the key talking points will be the regression of EcoCash due […]
EcoCash announces new rewards program – Is this meant to soften the Zimswitch blow?
EcoCash is now integrated with the national switch (Zimswitch) as was mandated by the Reserve Bank earlier this year. A day after the integration with what used to be the mobile money service provider’s rival was announced, EcoCash has announced a rewards program that incentivises people to transact via the mobile money platform. EcoCash Rewards […]
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 […]
EcoCash urges subscribers with multiple accounts to move funds by 25 September
Earlier this month, EcoCash announced that the deadline for moving funds for multiple account holders to one account was going to be 6 September. It seems a significant number of people missed the initial deadline and so they’ve extended it to the 25th. EcoCash users with multiple accounts will have to move them to a […]
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 […]
OneMoney follows EcoCash and effects ZW$5000 daily transaction limit
Many people were wondering if OneMoney and Telecash would all be subjected to the same regulations that were recently put into effect by EcoCash. Well, OneMoney is the second mobile money operator to effect the ZW$5000/daily transaction limit. NetOne subscribers received the message below this morning; Dear Customer. Following a RBZ directive, OneMoney transactions are […]
RBZ announces mobile money rule: Individuals can’t have more than one wallet anymore
The Monetary Policy Statement (MPS) is out and as we expect, the RBZ has announced some surprise regulations. The war against mobile money is far from over it appears… What’s the new rule? Under the section titled “measures to address mobile banking deficiencies” is a set of new regulations. Mobile money operators “shall with immediate […]
State of mobile money in Southern Africa
Being a young Zimbabwean who holds no faith in our banking system – mobile money has been a big part of my life. Around 49% of Zimbabweans are registered with a mobile money service. 1 in 2 Zimbos is a significant number and this got me wondering – Is the story the same in other […]
Zimswitch: a quick refresher on what it is and what it does
The Reserve Bank this afternoon issued a statement that made Zimswitch the national payment switch. This means that EcoCash will be relegated to just being wallet and will have to use Zimswitch as the universal transaction hub. Now, as more information about this comes out, and we see how EcoCash responds to this. Let’s have […]
With a national switch on the way, EcoCash needs to focus on innovation now more than ever
A few days ago, my colleague Tinashe wrote an article about EcoCash and the Econet group’s need to innovate build compelling products. Today the RBZ announced that ZimSwitch is going to assume the role of the national switch and EcoCash will be required to be interoperable with this switch. Given all this, I thought it […]
EcoCash to become just a wallet, RBZ says everyone must connect to ZIMSWITCH
So this happened: DESIGNATION OF ZIMSWITCH TECHNOLOGIES (PRIVATE) LIMITED (ZIMSWITCH) AS A NATIONAL PAYMENT SWITCHIn accordance with the provisions of the National Payment Systems Act [Chapter 24:23] and the Banking (Money Transmission, Mobile Banking and Mobile Money Interoperability) Regulations, Statutory Instrument 80 of 2020 (the Regulations), the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (the Bank) wishes to […]
EcoCash reduces transaction limits
Given that EcoCash has been under severe regulatory scrutiny over the past few weeks, its no surprise that the mobile money platform has taken the step to reduce transcation thresholds for certain transactions. The affected transactions can be found below: Affected customer Old Daily Limits (ZW$) New Daily Limit (ZW$) Old Monthly Limit (ZW$) New […]
OneMoney Crosses Half A Million Subscriber Mark – How Did They Get There?
The latest POTRAZ report is out and OneMoney grew exponentially in the first quarter of 2020. 18.4% growth means NetOne’s mobile money service now has 555 225 subscribers. This time last year they had just over three hundred thousand subscribers so it’s interesting to see the mobile money service add over quarter of a million […]
[Update] EcoCash Merchant To Agent & A Host Of Other Transactions Blocked By FIU!
EcoCash seems to have blocked Merchant to Agent transactions though it’s not exactly clear what their reason for doing so is at the time of writing. The first hunch would be that this is yet another directive from the RBZ but if it is it’s a bit strange that the RBZ has not shared that […]
Frustrated At Having To Remember USSD Codes For EcoCash? Try This App Instead
USSD menus are pretty outdated when you consider the way we usually navigate on smartphones. The fact that you have to remember the codes and then the clunky interface which is prone to user error – the experience is mostly forgetable. But since USSDs offer real utility they are not going anywhere anytime soon so […]
Full Breakdown Of The High Court’s Ruling On EcoCash Application For RBZ To Reverse Directive
3 weeks ago, the Reserve Bank issued a directive ordering mobile money operators to ban agents that were transacting above a threshold of ZW$100 000. After effecting the ban EcoCash would have to register once again to meet certain KYC demands. EcoCash responded by filing an urgent chamber application to the high court seeking the […]
Exchange Rate Problem Is Due To RBZ Not Being In Control When Agents Move Money, Says Mangudya
It’s been a scandalous month for the Reserve Bank and mobile money service providers with EcoCash at the centre of the Central Bank’s dart board. Background… The economy has been spiralling wildly and the Reserve Bank believes the fault lies with mobile money services. This thinking is what led the Central Bank to issue out […]
EcoCash Announces Promotion For Tobacco Farmers Receiving Payment On Their Platform
Following the opening of the tobacco auction floors earlier this month, EcoCash has announced a promotion for tobacco farmers accepting their mobile money service as form of payment for their crop. Farmers getting paid more than ZW$30 000 stand a chance to win 1 of 30 tobacco seed for 1ha and 1 of 30 fertilisers […]
New Law Mandating Mobile Money Interoperability Is A Big Step Forward But…
Some 10 years ago I wrote an opinion article in the Banks & Banking Survey (The Independent) titled ‘The case for a transparent, inter-operable and viral retail payment network‘. The article advocated for the payments market to go digital or cashless, on the back of crippling hyperinflation which ended in 2009 when the economy dollarized. […]
RBZ Freezes EcoCash Agent Accounts That Handle Above ZW$100 000 Per Month – Here’s Why That’s Dumb
Another day another confusing decision by the RBZ… The central bank has directed EcoCash and other mobile money service providers (think OneMoney, Telecash & MyCash) to freeze accounts belonging to agents with transaction activity above ZW$100 000. Whilst at this point its fair to say we have become accustomed to such weird declarations and laws […]
No, You Can’t Send Money From EcoCash To OneMoney – Here’s What’s Possible
A number of tweets have led people to believe they can now send money from an EcoCash account to a OneMoney account directly (i.e without the need for an agent). The above tweet is an example of the euphoria around this issue but it’s important to note that this has always been possible. Moving money […]
New Law Compels EcoCash- OneMoney Interoperability: Will It Change Things?
Recently, Statutory Instrument 80 (SI80) was effected into law and among the big talking points is the fact that all mobile money operators will be mandated to connect to a national payment switch; It shall be mandatory for every money transmission provider and mobile banking provider shall be connected to a national payment switch, as […]
RBZ Orders Banks To Freeze EcoCash, OneMoney Agents Suspected Of Illicit Forex Deals
The RBZs Financial Intelligence Unit has directed all banks to freeze bank accounts linked to Mobile Money Agents listed in a note that was leaked to the media. Acting Director-General Financial Intelligence Unit Oliver Chiperesa ordered banks to freeze, with immediate effect, all Ecocash and OneMoney agents suspected of involvement in money laundering. Read the […]
Telecel Cuts Employees Salaries To ZW$800 & Blames It On Coronavirus
Telecel rarely makes the news cycle for positive reasons these days and today is no different. It’s being reported that some of Telecel’s workforce got their salaries cut to just ZW$800 (around US$16). Staffers allegedly received an email informing them that the cuts were due to pressures exerted on the business by Covid-19; This mail […]
If Love Local Soccer And You Use OneMoney, Getting Into Certain Games Is About To Get Cheaper
NetOne is one of (if not) the biggest sponsors in local football and they are leveraging this influence to offer a pretty sweet deal to local football fans who also happen to be OneMoney mobile money users. The Let’s Go 50:50 promotion will see all OneMoney users qualify for a 50% discount for match day […]