Posted inMobile Money

Econet reviews EcoCash mobile money transfer tariffs

Econet has announced through adverts in the press the 'reduction' of tariffs of its mobile money transfer service, EcoCash. The move follows a directive from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) and general pressure from the market to review the charges. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor, in his 31 January Monetary Policy Statement, issued a directive to mobile operators to review their charges by end of March 2013.
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Posted inMobile Money

Agribank CEO, Sam Malaba, encourages banks to integrate with EcoCash

Agribank has become the latest Zimbabwean bank to integrate with the EcoCash mobile money transfer system. The announcement was made today at a press conference jointly held by the bank and Econet Wireless today in Harare. The integration is basically the same as that which Econet has secured with 3 banks so far i.e. to allow EcoCash customers to transfer money between their Agribank account and their EcoCash wallet, and the ability to do that even when they are out of the country.
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Posted inMobile Money

Econet on EcoCash open access: “Hey banks, here’s the deal…”

Yesterday, Econet made an announcement via a release to assure the market that issues (these, issues) have been resolved with “virtually all banks” and that if everything works according to plan, all banks that want to be connected to EcoCash, would be integrated by end of March 2013. According to the release Econet is apparently responding to fears by some financial institutions that they’ll lose customer to EcoCash integrated banks.
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Posted inMobile Money

Econet appoints SA Banker as new TN Bank CEO

We just received a statement from Econet announcing the appointment of South Africa banker, Kwanele Ngwenya, as CEO of it's newly acquired financial institution, TN Bank. Ngwenya was Director of Commercial Segment at First National Bank's (FNB) Botswana operation.
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Posted inMobile Money

Econet accuses CABS, ZimSwitch & Kevin Terry of trying to frustrate EcoCash

Press releases are usually filled with exaggerated self-praise and sometimes some subdued remarks subtly attacking the competition. Not with today’s press release from Econet Wireless which we posted earlier. The company has fired a salvo at CABS, ZimSwitch and Kevin Terry accusing them of using the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe to fight the EcoCash mobile money service.
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Posted inConnectivity Mobile Money

Press Release: EcoCash open to every bank in Zimbabwe

A senior Econet Wireless executive, Mr Darlington Mandivenga, who is responsible for the rollout of EcoCash, has dismissed a claim reportedly made by Bankers Association of Zimbabwe’s immediate past president, Mr John Mushayavanhu, stating that Econet has denied banks access to its platform for integration.
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Posted inMobile Money

Zim mobile operators directed to reduce mobile money transaction fees

The constant complaint with mobile money services locally (EcoCash really) is that it’s expensive to use. Since launch. They reviewed the transaction fees downwards once, a few weeks after launch, but EcoCash remained the most expensive mobile money transfer service in Zimbabwe. So yes, we mourned a lot about it every time we got a chance. Those prayers are about to be answered.
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Posted inMobile Money

Local developer builds an EcoCash agent locator app

Despite EcoCash being quite expensive to use (especially for the larger amounts) there’s always that time when it’s really the only option. Time of day, your location and the situation’s urgency all conspire to get you to EcoCash someone.
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Posted inConnectivity Mobile Money

5 tech initiatives we would love to see in Zimbabwe in 2013

Open data would enable accountability: it is difficult to conceal something if the facts are there for all to see. Not only will it result in transparency, just Data alone in the right hands is a powerful resource for our national economic and social development. It's also an incredible opportunity for local talent to build locally relevant tech solutions, a very huge gap currently.
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Posted inMobile Money Startups

FootballZone releases its first football app: AFCON 2013

Local Football updates startup, FootballZone, has announced the launch of its Afcon mobile app that went live in the Nokia Ovi Store last week. According to FootballZone cofounder, Godwin Chiparaushe, soccer fans in Africa will be able to follow the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations on their phones via the app.
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Posted inConnectivity Mobile Money

TN Bank to finance smartphones and tablets for Econet subscribers

When Econet made moves to acquire TN Bank last year, they made it clear it was to push adoption of their EcoCash mobile money service. But there are more benefits to owning a financial institution than just driving mobile money adoption; Econet announced today that one of those benefits, and indeed one of the reasons it acquired the bank, was to have it finance smartphone deals for Econet subscribers.
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