As someone who’s been knee-deep in Zimbabwe’s tech scene for years, I’ve seen my fair share of innovations come and go. But Starlink? I’m sure those who are avid readers of Techzim will forgive me as this satellite internet service has been making waves like nothing else. Sure their launch in Zimbabwe can’t be chronicled as a huge event, but their responsiveness to local market conditions when it comes to plans/packages is just impressive.
However, in our operation helping hundreds of Zimbabweans get their hands on those sleek Starlink dishes, I’ve noticed a pattern emerging. The biggest hurdle for Starlink’s success in Zimbabwe won’t be competition from the likes of Econet or their sister company Liquid – it’ll be our complex, often frustrating payment landscape.
The Payment Puzzle: A Uniquely Zimbabwean Challenge
Let’s face it, folks – payments in Zimbabwe are about as straightforward as navigating Harare’s CBD during rush hour. Now if you know how to dodge a kombi or a mushikashika, that’s no guarantee that you can figure out how to make payments locally. If you’re coming from the diaspora and haven’t been here for a while I definitely encourage you to get a 101 Course on “How To Do Money In Zimbabwe”.
We’ve got a financial ecosystem that would make even the most seasoned fintech expert scratch their head. Here’s the deal:
1. The Unbanked Majority: A significant portion of Zimbabweans don’t have bank accounts. The banks try, but when you’re earning about US$1 a day what incentive is there to put that in the hands of our predatory financial institutions? There have been multiple times when we’ve assisted people making payments to Starlink and they’ve had to borrow their niece or nephew’s bank card just to make the payment.
2. The Visa/Mastercard Conundrum: Those who do bank often need to jump through hoops and loops just to get a Visa or Mastercard attached to their account. KYC processes that are just short of getting a letter from your ancestors in order for them to either open a bank account or have a Debit card that isn’t only ZimSwitch enabled but also Visa/Mastercard compliant. It’s like trying to eat sadza and bones without salt – technically possible, but not easy.
3. Prepaid Card Chaos: Prepaid cards from banks like BancABC, FBC and Steward Bank are options, but they’re about as reliable as ZESA during a thunderstorm. I’ve lost count of the number of frustrated tweets I’ve seen about failed Starlink payments. Just recently we lost over US$70 in withdrawal charges by funding one card, trying to purchase a Starlink kit, failing, us withdrawing and depositing into another bank account. Did this 3 times and believe me the pocket is crying.
4. Virtual Card Nightmares: EcoCash Mastercard and O’mari Visa offer virtual card numbers, which should be a godsend. But in practice? They’re about as useful as a chocolate teapot when it comes to Starlink payments.
The Reseller Opportunity: A Double-Edged Sword
This payment predicament creates a golden opportunity for local Starlink authorised resellers. They can swoop in, take direct payments from clients, and then they settle locally to Starlink Zimbabwe’s local Stanbic account (No I don’t think we’ll be able to pay in ZiG anytime soon). But here’s the rub – it’s a double-edged sword.
On one hand, resellers could make Starlink more accessible to the average Zimbabwean. When a payment is needed to be made to Starlink one could easily go into an office of a Reseller, hand over that cash and seconds later their account will be credited.
On the other hand, resellers could inflate prices in trying to survive the Zimbabwean economy, creating a barrier to the very accessibility Starlink promises. It’s a delicate balance, and one that needs careful navigation.
The Urgent Need for Local Payment Solutions
Starlink needs to find a local payment processor, and they need to find one like yesterday. PayNow, ZimSwitch, or even DPO need to step up to the plate. Without a reliable local payment option, Starlink risks becoming the internet equivalent of a fancy car with no fuel – great in theory, useless in practice.
I’ve seen firsthand how this payment issue is holding back Starlink’s potential in Zimbabwe. During a recent call in helping someone migrate their account from a roaming package to a local subscription, my client spent more time trying to process the payment than it took to set up the entire system. It’s a frustrating bottleneck in an otherwise smooth process.
The Roaming Loophole: A Temporary Fix
Here’s an interesting twist – thousands of savvy Zimbabweans who bought their Starlink devices while roaming from Zambia or Malawi were finding it easier to pay their monthly subscriptions to Starlink in these foreign countries whilst using local Zimbabwean bank cards. It’s a clever workaround, but not only does one need to pay US$100/month, it shouldn’t be necessary.
Those who have been having kits from outside Zimbabwe will attest to this, local cards worked flawlessly when paying their outside subs to Starlink. This is mainly due to Zambia and Malawi having a local payment processor, that understands payments in these markets, and can handle such easily.
It is a stark contrast to the payment struggles we’ve witnessed with direct Zimbabwe purchases.
The Bigger Picture: What This Means for Zimbabwe’s Digital Future
This payment predicament isn’t just a Starlink problem – it’s symptomatic of a larger issue in Zimbabwe’s digital landscape. As we strive to become a tech-savvy nation, our payment infrastructure is definitely lagging behind.
I’ve seen the transformative power of high-speed internet in rural communities. A school in Chimanimani went from having no internet to hosting virtual international exchanges, all thanks to Starlink. But for every success story, there are dozens of potential users held back by payment hurdles.
Looking Ahead: Potential Solutions
So, what’s the way forward? Here are a few possibilities:
1. Local Partnership: Starlink could partner with a local telecom or bank to facilitate payments. Imagine if you could pay for your Starlink subscription at an EcoCash agent – game-changer. My hopes are that Ecocash can separate themselves from what may seem like a fight with Econet and Liquid and facilitate such payments.
2. Regulatory Intervention: The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe could step in to create a framework for easier international payments. It’s a long shot, but stranger things have happened.
3. Innovative Fintech Solutions: This could be the push needed for a homegrown fintech solution to bridge the international payment gap.
4. Starlink-Specific Prepaid Cards: Similar to what some airlines offer for ticket purchases. Starlink could partner with a local bank, like Stanbic, and have clients fund these specific cards to make payments for their internet. Remember when FBC went after the ACCA peeps?
Conclusion: A Call to Action
As someone who’s been in the trenches of Zimbabwe’s tech scene, I can say with confidence that Starlink has the potential to revolutionise our digital landscape. But for that to happen, we need to solve this payment puzzle – and fast.
To Starlink: Find a local payment solution. Your technology is 21st century; make sure your payment options are too.
To local fintech players: There’s a massive opportunity here. Whoever cracks this code stands to gain big.
To potential Starlink users: Keep pushing. The more demand we create, the more pressure there will be for a solution.
The future of internet in Zimbabwe is bright, but only if we can figure out how to pay for it. As for me, I’ll keep helping Zimbabweans get connected, one tricky payment at a time. Who knows? Maybe by the time you read this, we’ll have cracked the code. Here’s hoping!
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30 comments
Great write up, great read. As a technologist and builder myself I forsaw this problem coming. I guess that’s where we are at now huh.
When Starlink entered the Nigerian market they partnered with a 18 month old startup to handle payments. I think that’s the direction we are to take as well because not everyone would qualify for a Visa/MasterCard with our local banks and their obscenely demanding KYC.
Is the challenge that big? How are other international players taking payments from Zimbabwe eg Apple, Netflix etc. I don’t think we need any other intermediaries to get payments done. If one has their card enabled for international payments they should be able to make payments to Starlink like they do for any other services.
Exactly
This is such an overdramatized article. To say locally issued VISA and MasterCards are as good as ZESA, hmmm. If you have had a terrible personal experience, it doesn’t mean the populas has had one.
It’s not hard to have a bank account if you manage to buy the starlink kit. Besides that, you can’t buy starlink for funny but for business. However, if you go to FBC Bank you will open MasterCard account easily. They need your ID, proof of residency and $5. Kusada kunyanyakunyudza gejo mugarden.
very true indeed, there are many people who are not aware and take it for granted that they can use their master and visa cards easily without any problems, when most have it hard just applying for one, I can’t understand how the system in Zimbabwe is advanced, but create a simple process that even a child can use, you mean to tell me it’s each man for himself in this country, it’s sad
Great article William Chui, would love to sit and chat to you about this and possible solutions over a coffee. My email should be accessible to you. Cheers
Great article but i have reservations though. Problem is that most of us are used to having money in our pockets and two we fear globalisation and e-commerce to do transactions online hence there was no need to have international visa or Mastercard. 3 our social construction and background made us to fear technology acceptance.
on the payments part i have had a different experience. i have to admit i havent purchased starlink but surely its an online payment like any other. For big payments (1000+) i use FBC qnd its been flawless over the years. For my Netflix,DSTV,youtube,Google,Amazon,Audible i use the vurtual cards recently used Omari and it worked just fine
Very insightful and informative article. Zimbabwe payment issue is similar to that of Ghana where l come from. Common payment platforms or channels like pay pals and google pay etc are not available in Ghana 🇬🇭 So it’s a problem across boarders. But Kenya stands out of many countries when it comes to ease of payment systems
Has anyone ordered and received their kit?
You natso know your staff baba,very well researched and articulated
The payment issue is not much of a big regarding the fact that econet and ecocash offe Mastercards meaning that any person with an ecocash account can get a virtual MasterCard and do payments online. So I think in this case the ecocash is an easier option regarding the fact that it doesn’t demand any kyc or any proof of employment to get the virtual number for mastercard.
this is clearly canvasing for business….I fully paid for one starlink using bancabc
and just today did a deposit for another starlink kit
in July I use my bank and card ina middle east country for literally a month and had no issues
can have the name of your cards so we can stay away from them
the card easy to open there’s minimal kyc since it’s just a prepaid visa
This problem of payments has been there for a while and it’s definitely holding the country’s economic potential back a lot. If only the government understood the value and importance creating a smooth financial payments system as part of the broader financial inclusion strategy we could be far. We need PayPal in Zimbabwe to be a 2 way system where we can receive and make payments using our Zimbabwean PayPal accounts…. Then have those PayPal Accounts linked to our bank accounts….this will change the game in so many ways!
Ecocash master card is a problem payment made on 19 July 2024 which was declined but went on to deduct funds from my account up to now no refund has been made to submit a dispute form had to stand more than 2 hours and to follow up on the issues another more than 3 hours and the dispute team seems never to be available up to now no refund has been done sofar which is like almost 2 months
I’m in the same boat. I tried to book a flight online in July and the transaction went through but the booking didn’t. I submitted the dispute resolution form and they just said they will contact me and that was that. I’ve been waiting 2 months
Good article
Wakatiza nemari yangu yerent & several bills kuZesa & council chikomana
Uhmmm, sir are you not being overly negative/pessimistic ?? We do make online payments every day for all amounts and it works !!!
Hallo, its an oppotunity for the business minded to offer payment services.
Absolutely amazing information, detail tech “must to know what makes starlink like not to be like a fancy car without fuel”
Getting a visa or master card is not a big deal at all. I dont know with your bank but it took me less than 15mins to get my master card whoch I use to pay for all my online payments
DPO left Zim Market last month
Starlink recently changed their payment service provider from DPO to Dlocal and this is when all issues started. Even Zambia accounts you will see flames trying to make payment to Starlink.
I just like your writing. You leave me wanting to read on
Great write up! You couldn’t have said it better regarding payments and our cards. I was travelling overseas and complete different time zone and was stuck unable to pay for my hotel with steward banks new infinite card. They advised me don’t use card during their daily maintenance hours which coincided with my awake hours in the other rendering my card pretty much useless most of the trip. So something needs to happen
Pyd
ibotso
Hi guys , I’d like to pick your brains on what seems to be another big issue with Starlink as everyone in Zim he signing up. It seems there’s two issues that I feel are negligent on their part. Firstly my mother subscribed and had my sister pay for the residential package. On arrival the kit would not connect. Turns out it was registered for Gweru when my mother is clearly in Harare and selected gps coordinates for the correct area. On contacting Starlink customer service they claim the correct area is over subscribed and has reach capacity. Only way around it is to upgrade to roaming or send the kit back for refund. This doesn’t sit well with me – one location was not incorrect and two if area has reached capacity why are they still selling ? Please share your thoughts on this , something is not right here.