EcoCash reaffirms its position as a licenced Bureau de Change

Towards the end of last month, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced that it would be selling forex to registered Bureaux de Change which they would be allowed to sell on to their customers/public. This was, according to the RBZ, in an effort to help small to medium enterprises and individuals access forex. It seems like there were some in the media who had been asking questions about EcoCash’s position as a remittance service as well as a Bureau de Change.

The Cassava Fintech run company released the following statement clarifying the services it offers in relation to foreign currency:

CUSTOMER NOTICE

EcoCash Remittances and Bureaux de Change (BdC) services

EcoCash is aware of recent media interest on some aspects of its Remittance and Bureaux de Change services. EcoCash would like to reassure its valued customers and the public that it is licenced under the Exchange Control Act to provide both international remittances and Bureaux de Change services. EcoCash has been offering international remittances to the public under the existing conditions for more than 7 years and Bureaux de Change services for more than 2 years.

1. ZWL and FCA EcoCash wallets

Every EcoCash customer has 2 EcoCash wallets; the primary Zimbabwe Dollar wallet which is used for local transactions and a multicurrency FCA wallet for free funds. The FCA wallet has been in use since the re-introduction of the multicurrency regime under S.I 85 of 2020 and the wallet is designated to handle free funds with applicable tariffs on all transactions.

As EcoCash, we are an Agent of several international remittance organisations as their last-mile partner. There are 3 options for receiving international remittances namely; Cash Pick Up, Credit into Bank Account and Credit into a Mobile Wallet. It is the choice of the Sender to select the option they would like the recipient here in Zimbabwe to receive the funds. For all remittances terminating into the EcoCash FCA wallet, the customer has a choice to either withdraw exclusively from Econet shops as cash or convert the funds into local currency through our Bureau de Change facility at the prevailing Auction rate.

2. Bureaux de Change (BdC)

As a licensed BdC EcoCash offers its customers a platform to sell foreign currency at the prevailing rates prescribed by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Foreign Exchange Auction system.

Where customers need any assistance, kindly contact our toll-free customer support number 114 or SMS our helpline 0771 222 114.

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