ZB has a new “cashback” service that caters to its already privileged clients

Earlier today we noticed a confusing advert in the Herald, it was advertising a new ZB Bank service which we can only assume is called “SnapCash”.

The service is a partnership with an app called cashbackAPP, this is where the problems start. To run the service you have to download the cashbackAPP and register an account on it using the ZB Bank promotion code, but, you can only join the service with a Visa or Mastercard.

Once you have registered with cashbackAPP, ZB Banks says that you have to use you VISA/MasterCard at select outlets participating in the promotion do earn points which at some point you can redeem as cash. Once your points reach a certain level, your ZB account will be deposited with $50 from the cashbackAPP.

To earn the points, not only do you have to purchase at select stores using ZB point of sales machines, you have to then take a picture of the receipt and upload onto the cashbackAPP. So the steps are:

1. Download the cashbackAPP application, register using the promo code and Visa/Mastercard details
2. Swipe your Visa/Mastercard at a Select store on a ZB Bank POS
3. Take a picture of the invoice generated by the POS
4. Upload the picture onto the cashbackAPP application
5. Earn points for every transaction
6. When your points reach a valuation of $50, your ZB account will be deposited

When we checked the cashbackAPP website, the selected stores participating cashbackAPP merchants included: House Of Paint; Halsted Builders Express Workington; The Centurion; Cafe Nush; The Balloon Shack, and many other shops found to the North of Harare.

Efforts to get a comment from ZB Bank were not successful by the time of publication, we do expect them to clarify quite a few issues we have with this product/promotion.

We’re not sure who this product is aimed at and why we would think that with ZB’s drive on agent banking they would be implementing more products aimed at the masses. To us, this product is quite exclusive as it requires the account holder to have a Visa/Mastercard, something many Zimbabweans can’t afford.

We’re also not too impressed with the loose use of the terms “cashback” at a time where many Zimbabweans are standing for hours in queues to access their money, and to paste it onto a service that electronically deposits your money is a tad bit misleading.

There are a lot more questions raised than answers given with this new service by ZB Bank, hopefully, we’ll get some understanding soon but as it stands this is how we think it works.