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

Thursday, October 22, 2015

For all its successes in the mobile money sector, Zimbabwe does not have regulatory frameworks for restitution of users should any of the mobile money platforms collapse, the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) said Tuesday.

The southern African country’s three mobile companies – Telecel Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless and state owned NetOne – all have mobile money platforms. Additionally, some banks in the country are also running mobile money offerings.

Government statistics show that the value of transactions in the Zimbabwean mobile money industry declined by nearly 8% to $406.9 million in the first quarter for the current year. The telecom companies have broadened their platforms to include cross border remittances, bill payments among other uses.

However, there are worries that the mobile money platforms pose a risk to subscribers in the event that they collapse because there are no regulatory frameworks to protect users.