Viewpoint: Zimbabwe’s Restrictions on Mobile Money Transfers Are a Blow To Financial Inclusion
Mobile financial services are, in most African countries, born out of crises. In 2011, Zimbabwe had gone through a volatile decade of economic crises – hyperinflation, currency instability and a collapse of the formal financial system. Consumers, mostly employed in the informal sector, had a widespread mistrust of the formal banking system.
In came Econet, a major mobile operator, to launch a mobile money service called Ecocash. Taking advantage of the country’s high mobile penetration, the service had 2.3 million users within 18 months. Today, close to 90% of adult Zimbabweans use Ecocash. In addition, Ecocash paved the way for competitors such as OneMoney, Telecash and Mycash.
Photo courtesy of Erik (HASH) Hersman.
Source: The Conversation (link opens in a new window)
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
