Telecel Zimbabwe, a telecommunications company affiliated with Egypt-based Global Telecom Holding, has begun offering the Telecash mobile money service in conjunction with a debit card that may be used to pay for services and conduct bank transactions at point-of-sale (POS) devices located in 4,500 retail stores in the country. The POS devices are linked by Zimswitch, a Zimbabwean firm that facilitates third-party transactions. Telecel also now allows funds to be transferred internationally into a Telecash account. Since 2011, Telecel customers in Zimbabwe have been able to deposit, withdraw and transfer funds via their mobile phones. Telecash, which limits each transaction to USD 500, with a daily limit of USD 1,000 and a monthly limit of USD 5,000 will deploy 1,600 agents in Zimbabwe to facilitate the adoption of the technology by customers. Terms and fees for the new Telecash services are not available at this time.
Telecel Zimbabwe reports 2.5 million customers in Zimbabwe as of 2014. The company is a joint venture of Global Telecom Holding, which has 83 million subscribers in Africa, Canada and South Asia, and Empowerment Corporation, a consortium of Zimbabwean companies. Global Telecom Holding is controlled by Egypt’s Orascom Group, which also has construction and other subsidiaries. Zimswitch is a unit of Uniswitch of Zimbabwe.
By Meraj Husain, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
[1] Zimbabwe Independent: “Telecash joins mobile money services fray,” http://www.theindependent.co.zw/2014/01/31/telecash-joins-mobile-money-services-fray/
MicroCapital, January 28, 2014, “Central Bank of Zimbabwe Imposed 5% Tax on Mobile Money Services,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-central-bank-of-zimbabwe-imposes-5-tax-on-mobile-money-services/
MicroCapital, October 24, 2011, “Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, Telecel Zimbabwe Each Launch Mobile Banking Services,” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-econet-wireless-zimbabwe-telecel-zimbabwe-each-launch-mobile-banking-services/
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