Econet completes EcoCash mobile money integration with NMB Bank

We just got tipped to the news that Econet Wireless – well, the Econet Services part of it – has completed the integration of its EcoCash platform with NMB Bank‘s banking platform. The integration means EcoCash subscribers with NMB accounts will now be able to transfer money between their bank accounts and EcoCash wallets via the EcoCash USSD menu. Subscribers will also be able to check their account balances and get statements via EcoCash.

NMB Bank joins the following banks that are already integrated to EcoCash: CBZ, Agribank, Steward Bank, Stanbic, and ZB Bank. It is likely that more banks will sign up to EcoCash in the coming months given the phenomenal growth EcoCash has registered since launch in September 2011. The company has said it now has more than 2.5 million registered subscribers. In a country of about 12.7 million, that’s an impressive 20% EcoCash penetration.

Just yesterday, Econet announced that soon they will launch an international remittance service targeted as a solution for Zimbabweans in the diaspora to send money back home. But it hasn’t been all good news with EcoCash recently. Just two weeks ago the company announced an abrupt suspension of mobile money transfers to other mobile networks effectively making EcoCash an econet network only affair. The company has not offered any reasons for the move.

NMB Bank is dually listed on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The bank is one of the few local banks that have thrived even through Zimbabwe’s economic turmoil of the last decade.