NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Zimbabwe’s second largest telco by subscriber numbers, Telecel, on Wednesday launched a credit card for its mobile money system Telecash.

Telecash was launched early this year and officials have said about $17 million has been transacted via the system to date.

However, the launch on Wednesday of Telecel’s gold credit card is expected to bring enhanced convenience for Telecash users, according to Nkosinathi Ncube, the mobile money director for Telecel.

The Telecash card will be driven through CBZ, one of the biggest banks in Zimbabwe.

“Mobile money has been struggling to make a mark in retail. We consulted widely with banks and retail operators and have come up with the Telecash gold card,” said Ncube.

He said Telecel was geared to broaden financial inclusion in Zimbabwe through ensuring that people also get to use to credit cards and being able to withdraw money from automated teller machines (ATMs).