Banks in Zimbabwe face new threat from mobile money

Monday, February 24, 2014

Econet, the country’s largest mobile operator, launched EcoCash in 2011 to tap into the unbanked. It was followed last year by NetOne which relaunched its own OneWallet.

Soon afterwards, Telecel’s MMTS, termed Telecash, was launched to also tap into the lucrative business.

The proliferation of the MMTS comes on the backdrop of banks’ failure to reach to potential clients, leaving a huge chunk of the population financially excluded.

A survey by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstats) showed that 40% of adults do not use any financial products. Should they desire to borrow, they turn to family and friends and if they opt to save, they do so at home.

Source: The Standard (link opens in a new window)

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digital payments, financial inclusion, mobile finance