This evening (Monday 2nd Novemebr 2019), EcoCash has sent some weird messages to some of their subscribers. It’s not so clear what these messages are but they seem to suggest that one has done a bill payment transaction even if they haven’t.

Here’s a screenshot of the messages:

The balance doesn’t seem to be affected.

We reached out to a few EcoCash personnel to help us understand what’s going on and no one seemed to know what this was.

Once burnt, twice shy

Getting this message will give most a start because there was a fateful weekend when a good number of us woke up to messages that congratulated us for joining EcoSure and our money was deducted from our wallet without our consent.

Confidence slipping

With every twist in the EcoCash ‘upgrade’ saga they have to be careful that they don’t permanently lose people’s confidence. This morning there were hordes of people at the EcoCash offices demanding redress on failed transactions that resulted in money being lost by customers. A small thing like a set of cryptic messages that refer to a transaction that one has not done adds fuel to an already out of control fire.

The post EcoCash Sending Weird Messages To Subscribers appeared first on Techzim.

EcoCash upgraded their platform two weeks ago but most users of the platform have reached that the upgrade was in actuality a downgrade for all intents and purposes.

After the upgrade users couldn’t buy airtime, had their accounts blocked and lost money whilst trying to transact. The icing on the cake was a botched user experience that we actually wrote about in another post.

Anyway, the aftermath of all that is extremely lengthy queues at Econet shops in the CBD as EcoCash tries to clear the errors which keep arising due to the current instability of the system which leads to a vicious cycle and queues this long:

The post EcoCash Users Flock To Econet Shop To Get Assistance As Post-Upgrade Problems Drag On appeared first on Techzim.

EcoCash has been stuck in an upgrade cycle since Saturday 16 November. Whilst the planned upgrade has been announced as complete a number of time since that date the service hasn’t really worked optimally for the last 3 weeks.

It seems the platform is now down again with users getting one of many error messages when trying to access the mobile money service:

• Service is unavailable
• Your request could not be processed at the moment.
• Input XML is not recognized by the system
• System is busy
• Invalid code

EcoCash has sent out the following update regarding the latest episode of downtime:

Dear valued customer

We apologise for service disruptions you may be experiencing in trying to transact on EcoCash. Our technical team is working to resolve the technical challenge and we will inform you as soon as normal service is restored.

We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused.

Live Life the EcoCash Way!

Considering that the platform has not worked optimally for close to a month now one would expect that EcoCash would communicate more openly with the users and businesses who have been inconvenienced but nope, it’s still just “technical issues”…

The post EcoCash Is Down… Again appeared first on Techzim.

On this episode of the Techzim podcast, we have a discussion on whether the statement by NetOne CEO Lazarus Muchenje that OneMoney will overtake EcoCash in 2 years is even possible. Some of the questions on our minds were:

• Has OneMoney been growing?
• What are the use cases for OneMoney?
• How is NetOne convincing people to switch?
• What would they need to do to make that statement a reality?

You can listen on the following podcast platforms: Google Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and Apple Podcasts or on YouTube (video below).

The post Podcast On OneMoney To Overtake EcoCash In 2 Years appeared first on Techzim.

We’ve talked about fake EcoCash payments before, here and more recently here. Another case of EcoCash related cyber-crime has occurred with a Bulawayo based man being accused of defrauding a supermarket after faking EcoCash payments to the tune of 20 000 on different occasions.

He is said to have approached the employees at the supermarket with fake EcoCash messages purporting to have paid for some groceries and the employees allowed him to take the groceries.

The matter reportedly came to light in September when the supermarket conducted an audit which revealed a mismatch between Ecocash transactions and those recorded manually in the books.

Pindula

The problem with fake messages being used for cybercrime is that for the perpetrators of such crime the degree of ease with which they can carry out these crimes is shockingly easy since there are tonnes of apps to generate fake messages on app stores. I explained why these apps exist in the first place:

The developers behind the apps advertise their applications as being great for pranks but unfortunately in countries such as ours where use of mobile money is prevalent – the apps have found a new and more sinister purpose.

Fraudsters Using Fake EcoCash Messages To Fool Retailers

To make matters worse, EcoCash has in recent weeks been a dumpster fire with users of the mobile money platform not instantly getting confirmations when they pay for products. One would assume merchants have been going through the same problem which allows fraudsters to just blame the lack of receipt of a confirmation message on EcoCash’s “downgrade”.

As long as the EcoCash system isn’t working correctly and EcoCash doesn’t educate merchant and users on the existence of message generating applications, this form of cybercrime will continue to occur at an alarming rate since it’s so easy to generate fake messages.

The post Alleged Fraudster Generates $20 000 Worth Of Fake EcoCash Payments appeared first on Techzim.

At the end of November, OneMoney announced that they would 0 rate all transactions on the mobile money platform until 31 December. One would assume that the tactic is working because OneMoney has announced an extension of the promotion until March 2020.

To help usher in the year 2020, NetOne has extend the zero-tariff promotion on One Money, until March 2020, as a means of cushioning the transacting public to pay school fees, make payments, send and receive money. We will continue with our mission to transform and develop lives through communication solutions, as we complement government efforts towards Vision 2030 – an upper middle class economy.

NetOne CEO – Lazarus Muchenje

Before announcing the promotion, OneMoney made strides in the 3rd quarter when it grew its subscriber base by 27.8% from 335 132 to 428 529. This saw their market share grow to 6% from 4.8% whilst their main rival EcoCash fell from 94.4% to 93.3%.

Since announcing the Zero-transactions promotion last month NetOne has bolstered its agent and merchant network significantly:

• 19 000 Agents signed up
• 11 000 merchants signed up
• OneMoney has grown in cash value by 6000%

The post OneMoney Extends Free Transactions Promo Until March 2020 appeared first on Techzim.

EcoCash’s CEO Natalie Jabangwe thanked users of the mobile money service for their patience with EcoCash:

EcoCash’s November upgrade was marred with glitches and for weeks after the mobile money platform was in a worse-off state than it had been pre-upgrade.

It’s no surprise that in the video above the CEO mentions that they’re still working on clearing queries from the upgrade fiasco.

The post [Video] EcoCash CEO Thanks Users For Patience During Bumpy Upgrade appeared first on Techzim.

OneMoney has been on an upward trajectory for a while now. In October, NetOne revealed that their mobile money platform had gained 97% in a single quarter.

In a recent interview, Lazarus Muchenje (CEO of NetOne) revealed some of the strategies behind the growth of OneMoney and offers insight on what has changed at NetOne over the last year and a half.

Muchenje says the company has broken down the country into 5 operating regions -which they call zones- and within each of these zones, a manager has been appointed. The managers have captains and brand ambassadors at the communal level who know how best to provide a service for people in that specific zone.

This sounds like a fascinating approach because the customers get to see use cases from their point of view and not a one-size-fits-all approach which might be great for acquiring certain subscribers but equally alienates others.

The CEO also says NetOne has adopted a franchise model where they “capacitate local shops, rural shops and growth points.” The 1500 franchise shops (up from 34 shops) currently available helps customers to access NetOne services without having to go to shops.

Another clear benefit of this model is that whilst NetOne is expanding their reach they don’t have to allocate as much financial resources as they would if they were actually building out NetOne shops in these areas.

Outside of helping move the needle with OneMoney subscribers, Muchenje says this model has also helped onboard NetOne 700 000 subscribers.

The post Franchise Model One Of The Keys To OneMoney’s Growth – NetOne CEO appeared first on Techzim.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has just approved the adjustment of transaction fees upwards by Zimbabwe’s largest mobile money operator, EcoCash.

According to reliable sources this approval has been granted this very afternoon. We are yet to get our hands on the new transaction fee schedule. Our sources have informed that EcoCash will effect the new fees starting on Monday the 27th of January. If you are observant about how much you are charged when you transact you may notice the new fees even before Monday.

Transacting in electronic money is becoming way too expensive especially because of the 2% government tax that is levied on virtually every dollar that moves electronically. Zimbabweans have no way out of these high costs because the country is basically cashless, not by design but the country just doesn’t have cash.

We will update you as soon as we have the new transaction fees.

The post Breaking: EcoCash Tariffs Going Up, RBZ Has Approved appeared first on Techzim.

Following Facebook’s announcement of Libra, there was a brief honeymoon phase where crypto and tech enthusiasts celebrated the coming of this digital currency which would leverage Facebook’s digital footprint of 2.45+ billion users.

Fast forward 7 months and that enthusiasm has died down. A number of Libra association members have stepped down with Vodafone being the latest.

For Vodafone, the excuse for dropping out is to focus more on their mobile money platform M-PESA:

Vodafone Group has decided to withdraw from the Libra Association. We have said from the outset that Vodafone’s desire is to make a genuine contribution to extending financial inclusion. We remain fully committed to that goal and feel that we can make the most contribution by focusing our efforts on M-Pesa. We will continue to monitor the development of the Libra Association and do not rule out the possibility of future co-operation.

Vodafone statement

Vodafone’s statement is pretty similar to the one made by Paypal which sounds more like an excuse than a valid reason for leaving the association. The reason why most of the Libra Association partners have decided to abandon Facebook in its quest to create a digital currency has been because of the threat of regulation.

It’s hard to see any other reason for Vodafone ditching Libra outside of the regulatory threat. It’s hard to believe that Vodafone suddenly had a change of heart and decided that they could “make the most contribution by focusing on M-Pesa”.

All this after joining an association that would require them to pay US$10 million that goes to building the digital currency. I have doubts organisations wouldn’t have weighed the pros and cons of joining an organisation that you will have to fund beforehand and Vodafone realising that they are better served focusing on M-Pessa now is either an excuse or calls questions on decision-makers who were willing to allocate resources (time and money) before understanding what benefits they got from this.

To be fair the association has been around for over 7 months and Vodafone might have had some experiences that make them question their willingness to be involved in building the world’s largest digital currency.

The post Vodafone Withdraws From FB’s Libra Association To Focus On M-Pesa appeared first on Techzim.

EcoCash has introduced a new option for people who’ve mistakenly sent money to the wrong individual.

By dialling *150# and selecting option 3 (Self Help/Reversal) EcoCash subscribers can either submit a reversal or approve the reversal of a transaction.

Transaction reversal will require both parties to approve, so those of you who thought they would be vulnerable to people when they sell something and then the other party later reverses the transaction you have no reason to worry.

One can initiate a reversal and the recipient will have to approve before the reversal is actually complete.

Whilst this can get complicated if the recipient chooses not to approve the reversal the option is meant to settle reversal cases where the recipient is willing to cooperate without needing to have to approach EcoCash.

The ability to reverse transactions is not entirely new. It already existed on the EcoCash self-service portal but now it’s also available on the USSD making it less difficult to access.

The post EcoCash Users Now Able To Reverse Transactions Via USSD appeared first on Techzim.

In 2012, MTN launched a mobile money service in South Africa but closed it down 4 years later due to prohibitive operating costs. That would’ve been a sad way for the story to end so fast-forward another 4 years and MTN is launching mobile money services in South Africa once again.

This time they are partnering with Ubank to roll out once again. One of the biggest problems with convincing South Africans to sign up for mobile money services is that in South Africa more people have a bank account than those that are formally employed.

With that being the case one of the most attractive aspects of mobile money – which is giving those without access to bank accounts access to financial services- is nullified.

South Africa’s urban population is larger than the rural population, another factor which is expected to initially limit the prospects of the service. Compared to Zimbabwe (where most of the population is outside of urban areas and a significant number of people in urban areas weren’t using financial services before mobile money was introduced), South Africa will offer an interesting case study of how mobile money can fit in an economy with a functional banking system and high financial inclusion.

Using MTNs service, customers will be able to transact, make payments and send money using their phone, all the features we’re accustomed to with services such as EcoCash and OneMoney.

We believe that MoMo (Mobile Money) will truly help close the gaps between banked and unbanked consumers in South Africa and furthermore help the consumers have other channels to receive and send money safely and securely.

Felix Kamenga – MTN South Africa chief officer for mobile financial services

The post MTN Launches Mobile Money In South Africa Again appeared first on Techzim.

Last September, NetOne announced a partnership with ZIMRA that would allow businesses and individuals to pay their assessment and business partner numbers using NetOne’s mobile money service.

The BP number is used as an identification number for businesses whilst taxpayers can use the assessment number to identify their tax arrears before making payments. Think of it as an invoice of sorts.

For the Assessment number you’ll fill out similar details apart but your status (business/individual) is not required.

ZIMRA’s Commissioner-General Faith Mazani believes partnering with OneMoney will afford the ordinary person who hasn’t paid taxes because they don’t know how to an opportunity to finally pay their taxes:

I’m speaking here about the ordinary honest citizen who does not own up, not because of a lack willpower, but a lack of know-how. People discover that they owe an obligation to ZIMRA at the point where we come to collect, whilst, in other cases, the knowledge was available but a convenient method of meeting the obligation was not, until now.

Faith Mazani – ZIMRA Commissioner-General

From OneMoney’s perspective, this partnership will be one of the ways they hope to acquire customers by offering a service that isn’t offered by market leader EcoCash.

Whilst that is a good way for NetOne to differentiate OneMoney it was interesting to hear the ZIMRA commissioner-general mention that ZIMRA was proud to collaborate with a fellow state-owned enterprise:

We as ZIMRA, are especially proud of this collaboration as both NetOne and ourselves are part of the same family of State-Owned Enterprises.

Faith Mazani

I’m not sure if this means that ZIMRA’s partnership with OneMoney could remain exclusive because of their special relationship.

The post OneMoney Partnership With ZIMRA Enables Payment Of Taxes, Custom Duties & Business Partner Numbers appeared first on Techzim.

During the recently held Parliamentary Portfolio Committee meeting, Bankers Association of Zimbabwe raised concerns regarding mobile money services and the unfair advantage they have over financial institutions.

Dephine Mazambani, BAZs Chief Economist said the advantage stems from EcoCash and other mobile money services being regulated by POTRAZ and not the RBZ, which simply isn’t true:

Money transfer agencies and banks are not regulated the same way. We are regulated by the RBZ while they are regulated by POTRAZ.

Our regulation is different but one of the key challenges is that while we are regulated differently, sometimes you see that we offer similar products which creates an uneven playing field and sometimes pose a risk to the financial sector, seismic risks.

It is the regulatory environment we are hoping can be levelled.

Dephine Mazambani – BAZ Cheif Economist

This is a pretty stunning statement coming from the representatives of banks because one would expect that they would have knowledge of the fact that mobile money is in fact regulated by the RBZ and not by POTRAZ as they believe.

Whilst BAZ claims there is an unfair advantage, it’s no surprise they didn’t cite any specific cases where mobile money services have actually benefited from being “regulated by POTRAZ” as they claim. There are no specific examples of this advantage simply because it doesn’t exist.

During the same meeting, Cassava Smartech’s CEO corrected Ms Mazambani stating that EcoCash (and mobile money service providers) were in fact regulated by the RBZ:

EcoCash is under the direct oversight of the RBZ. We are regulated under the National Payments System Act and we make as frequent returns and engagement with the central bank as any other financial services sector in Zimbabwe, including banks.

For certain services we are also regulated by the RBZ Finacial Intelligence Unit where we submit all our suspicious transactions reports and other general issues which pick.

Eddie Chibi – Cassava Smartech

Whilst you would expect that a regular person who doesn’t understand the financial system could be confused by the regulation of mobile money but to hear that from the BAZ is quite startling, especially when you consider the BAZ is supposed to be a reflection of the banks.

The post BAZ Wrongly Says Mobile Money Services Have Unfair Advantage Over Banks appeared first on Techzim.

EcoCash took to their social media channels to warn subscribers using the mobile money service to avoid interfacing with a certain fake support number claiming to process instant renewals.

The fake support number has been associated with the following message:

Econet Urgent Notice

Don’t be delayed by calling EcoCash for reversals and hanging transactions simply contact the 24hr Econet EcoCash customers service and get assistance in a matter seconds.

0778050376

EcoCash advised that this is false and the only ways to get assistance via official channels are as follows:

1. Call on 114
2. Write to their Facebook (@EcoCashZim) and Twitter (EcoCashZW)
3. SMS/WhatsApp on 0771 222 114
4. Visit any Econet shop
5. Visit EcoCash Mini Service Centres

The post EcoCash Distances Self From Fake Customer Service Number appeared first on Techzim.

We recently got a tip to the effect that EcoCash had silently raised charges for EcoCash biller charges, slapping a $5 fee per transaction;

Ecocash biller charges have shot up to $5 flat per transaction irrespective of amount. Was shocked today when sending various amounts for my insurances viz $7, $10, $18, $:19, $23, $47. All these transactions attracted $5 charges each. This is avarice at its worst as the fee is exorbitant and disproportionate to the amounts being sent

Tip from one of our readers

After going back and forth investigating – we were left pretty confused as the biller payments we made (ZESA and ZOL) didn’t result in us incurring any extra $5 charge. During our investigation, however, we ended up noticing that there are some non-consumer services whose fees have been increased or even introduced.

Merchant to merchant transactions now come at a cost of 1% of the amount transferred being charged. Bulk payment lines seem to have fees of 2% + $5 which was not the case before.

It’s not clear because EcoCash has not communicated to the affected parties that they are now incurring more charges and we are left to guess what the charges actually are.

Earlier this year, EcoCash sought approval from the RBZ to raise charges and whilst they initially got approval, at some point between getting that approval and upping the charges RBZ changed their minds and the new charges were never announced officially.

It now looks like EcoCash has increased fees for those services that would not be easily noticeable. As much as we sympathise with them on the fact that the central bank flip flopped on approving fees, it is still not acceptable that the mobile money service would just increase a class of fees without communicating the changes.

Small businesses particularly informal ones are the most affected by these changes. This is also the class of businesses that rely on EcoCash the most. Whatever could be going on between EcoCash and the central; bank, the mobile money operator should still treat merchants and agents with the respect they deserve.

The post EcoCash Nicodemusly Raises Charges appeared first on Techzim.

On launching his Currency Stabilisation Task Force today, the minister of finance touched on mobile money specifically. Mobile money has been a scapegoat when it comes to the runaway inflation and its causative agent: accelerated decline in the value of the local currency.

Ncube proposes to:

• Place limits on daily bulk payer transactions.
  Bulk payments are such services like Payroll that mobile money operators introduced in the last two years. Would be interesting how the authorities will arrive at the limits seeing that some voluminous transactions like the payment of cotton farmers by Cottco through OneMoney exist.
• Ensure compliance with the 2% IMTT on bulk payers.
  EcoCash has already started collecting the 2% tax on these transactions. They have been collecting it for about a month now. Again we would want to know how salary payments will be distinguished from other bulk payments seeing that salary payments are supposed to be exempted from the 2% tax.

We find it interesting that Ncube seems to view the 2% tax as a punitive measure or an instrument to curb parallel market activity.

He’s got his eye on mobile money

Mthuli Ncube’s statement has the following paragaph:

Additionally, the daily returns being submitted by the mobile platforms to the Financial Intelligence Unit of the RBZ will be scrutinised very carefully by the Currency Stabilisation Task Force to ensure that all transactions are legitimate and are in accordance with the financial regulations in place.

Well on that, I have no comment. Sadly, all I know is that as long as the government remains as unpredictable as it is, as long as Zimbabweans still need to access forex to pay for basics such as food and medical attention from beyond borders and government documents like passports, all this will not work. The parallel market will keep thriving

The post Mobile Money Transactions To Be Scrutinised DAILY By Mthuli Ncube Task Force appeared first on Techzim.

Mthuli Ncube is said to have gazetted a new financial instrument yesterday that will enable mobile money users to receive interest on the money they keep in their mobile money wallets (i.e EcoCash, OneMoney, Telecash and MyCash).

At inception, mobile money users will get interest rates of about 0.02%/day;

• If you keep a $100 dollars in your mobile money wallet for 30 days you should get 60c
• If you keep it for over 6 months you should get $90 because of Banking (Savings Interest Rates) Regulations which stipulate that if you keep your money in the bank for 6 months and above you’ll get 90% back, according to The Herald.

It seems like the incentive here is for you and me to keep larger amounts of money in our mobile money wallets in the promise of a reward. Let’s raise that $100 to $500 and see what the interest rates look like;

• If you keep a $500 dollars in your mobile money wallet for 30 days you should get $3
• If you keep it for over 6 months you should get $450

The only problem I see with this is that people don’t use mobile money wallets like they do banks. It might take time to change those patterns but once a user puts their money in their mobile money wallet they are about to spend it and not keep it dormant. At least that’s true for me.

Secondly, at present, the incentive to keep the money in my wallet because I hope to get 0.02% interest per day doesn’t seem too attractive to me. The problem with Zimbabwe’s economy right now is inflation. I think it’s fair to say inflation is rising at a higher rate than that 0.02%/day I’m promised – or at least that’s what it feels like as a consumer.

Lastly, because disposable incomes are so depressed it’s hard to see someone opting to leave money in their wallet instead of buying goods and services they need right now.

The best-case scenario could be that the Finance Ministry could be making this decision right now with a long-term view because in the short term it’s hard to see any benefits mobile money users gain by keeping their money in their wallets.

The post EcoCash & Mobile Money Players To Pay Out Interest If You Keep Your Money In Your Wallet appeared first on Techzim.

NetOne’s boardroom squabbles have been well documented to this point but now there is another twist with Zim Morning Post reporting that the entire NetOne board is on the verge of expulsion.

Proserve Consultancy reportedly conducted an individual evaluation of all board members and reportedly and the board was found to be incompetent.

The board’s retired chairperson Mr Mutizwa reportedly wasn’t well-versed with how the board reported:

With all due respect, the chairman did not seem to be clear on the role of the modern-day board and governance principles that guide the board in its activities.

He appeared to still have the view of the ceremonial board that does not do much beyond “meeting” and having conversations with shareholders. The role of the board in guiding strategy appeared to be totally lost to him.

Evaluation documents

The same evaluation documents allegedly reveal that the entire board wasn’t upto task;

I have on many occasions described the board as dysfunctional and believe this is largely attributable to the leadership style which may have worked for yesteryear but not appropriate for today’s fast-paced environment

Further investigations…

Crime Investigations Department Serious Fraud Unit has also reportedly summoned 4 NetOne executives who are under the microscope for alleged corruption.

The four; Lazarus Muchenje, Tinashe Severe, Paradzai Chakona and an unnamed HR boss will be questioned by CID fraud unit and we know that Muchenje is alleged to have paid himself excessive holiday allowances among a host of other allegations.

Zim Morning post also alleges that Muchenje paid bonuses to staff in order to gain their favour – allegations which weren’t levelled at him by the NetOne board.

As more details about the NetOne fiasco have emerged, from the outside looking in it appears both the board and the Chief Executive who have been at arms since Muchenje’s suspension a month ago have a lot of explaining to do.

The post NetOne Board Facing Expulsion Whilst CEO Continues To Be Investigated appeared first on Techzim.

As Zimbabwe’s currency continues to take a beating, the country’s leading consumer payments platform, EcoCash has revised its ceiling on transactions. These limits are set with the approval of the RBZ. Given that the central bank is in denial as to the actual value of its currency the revisions come short of what the market really needs. It’s a welcome change all the same.

Sending money (peer to peer)

The limit for sending money has been increased from $1 000 to $5 000 per transaction.

Merchant payment

Paying a merchant can now be done up to $10 000 in one transaction. The previous limit was $3 000. The limit is still very limiting. You can’t buy a modest smart phone for $10 000 anymore for example.

Bill payments

Bill payment limit is now $10 000 as well. The old limit was $2 000.

Daily limits

EcoCash customers who are not linked to a debit card or a bank account can transact up to only $5 000 in any given day. This sounds too little but it is of course better than the old limit of $2 000.

Customers who are linked to a debit card have their limits increased from $5 000 to $10 000. Those with their EcoCash linked to a bank account can transact for up to $25 000, an increase from $10 000.

There is now a new class of customers they are referring to as ‘Executive Grade.’ These customers are allowed to transact up to $30 000 in a day.

Monthly limits

Customers who are not linked to a debit card or a bank account are now allowed to transact up to $20 000 per month which is an increase from $10 000.

If linked to a debit card, customers will be allowed to transact up to $35 000 per month. Previously the limit was $25 000. Customers whose EcoCash wallet is linked to a bank account can now transact up to $150 000 in a month, up from $50 000.

The Executive Grade customers will transact up to a monthly limit of $250 000.

The post EcoCash Increases Transaction Limits As ZWL Continues To Fall appeared first on Techzim.