• 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…

  • 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…

  • Econet hires BankservAfrica boss for new EcoCash CEO position

    Just a week after announcing the hire of former FNB executive to head its newly acquired bank, Econet disclosed today (somewhat inadvertently) the hire of another banker, Cuthbert Tembedza, to fill a newly created position of EcoCash CEO.

  • EcoCash & Stanbic integrate. CEO Mboweni comments on ZimSwitch integration

    We’re just from a press conference where Econet Wireless and Stanbic Bank announced the integration of Econet’s mobile money transfer platform, EcoCash, with Stanbic’s banking system allowing EcoCash subscribers to transfer money from and to their Stanbic accounts. Selected branches of Stanbic will also act as EcoCash Super Agents allowing EcoCash agents and customers to…

  • EcoCash vs Banks: Econet is trying to confuse everyone, says FBC’s Mushayavanhu

    As you may know, Econet came out yesterday to publicly accuse CABS, ZimSwitch and Kevin Terry of using the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe to fight Econet’s mobile money product EcoCash. The CABS MD, according to campaigning against EcoCash so he can push his own mobile money/banking product, Textacash. Textacash you will remember is basically an…

  • 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…

  • 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.

  • Econet mobile money subscribers to buy stocks on the ZSE using EcoCash

    Econet Wireless Zimbabwe has just announced that shortly it will be possible for “small” investors to use its EcoCash mobile money service to buy stocks on the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange. The service, according to the announcement is targeted at investors buying stock of less than $5,000.

  • 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.

  • Press Release: EcoCash now in OK Zimbabwe Limited stores

    Zimbabwe’s largest supermarket chain, OK Zimbabwe Limited, has become the first major retailer to be connected to EcoCash, Econet Wireless’ mobile money service. OK has assumed an EcoCash “Super-Agent” status, and will be performing agent services for EcoCash throughout its branches across the country. Under this partnership, every OK outlet will now register customers for…

  • biNu adds EcoCash to its credits payment options

    In a story title “More problems for regular SMS: biNu credits now available locally” that we posted here a few weeks ago, we expressed our delight that biNu credits were now available locally. The Australian based company (which now has representatives locally) had just announced that its 200,000 Zimbabwean users could now buy its platform’s…

  • Econet connects EcoCash to its banking company, TN Bank

    Yesterday, Econet published in an advert the announcement that the industry knew would come sooner or later. The mobile operator has now integrated EcoCash, its mobile money transfer service, to TN Bank, the bank it acquired earlier this year. The development means TN bank customers that use EcoCash will be able to transfer money from…

  • While Zimswitch waits, Econet chooses to partner banks directly with EcoCash

    Today we attended a press briefing where Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and CBZ Bank were announced a new mobile banking partnership. The partnership basically entails that EcoCash subscribers who bank with CBZ can now move money between their EcoCash mobile money wallet and their traditional bank account from their mobile phones. Users of the service can…

  • Press Release: CBZ becomes first bank to connect to EcoCash

    CBZ Bank, Zimbabwe’s largest bank, has become the first bank in the country to get a direct connection to the EcoCash service from Econet Wireless. Customers of the bank who have an EcoCash ‘eWallet’ can put money into the account using their cell phones. They can also take money from their eWallets and deposit it…

  • Sponsor Profile: EcoCash

    The ePayments Forum is a platform of common interest that seeks to bring together stakeholders in the plastic money, mobile money, and internet banking sector (collectively known as ePayments). The inaugural event is organised by Techzim events through the valued support of sponsorship partners:

  • Econet subsidizes kombi fares for EcoCash users

    In an apparent move to attract subscribers to use its EcoCash mobile payment service, Econet announced this week that for a week they’ll subsidize the kombi* fare by US 25 cents for people paying via EcoCash. For some users of EcoCash this means as much as half of the fare will be paid by Econet…

  • University student develops EcoCash internet payments proof of concept

    One of the things that came out of the EcoCash tour that we were part of recently was that internet payments are not near the top of their priority list […]

  • EcoCash by the numbers: now handles $70 million monthly

    Yesterday, Econet announced its interim unaudited results for the 6 months ending 31 August 2012. The one product mentioned again and again and one the Econet leadership confirmed was their […]

  • EcoCash Mobile Money: Interview with Econet Services CEO

    Last week, after a tour of EcoCash Business (well, EcoCash Commuter mostly), we got the opportunity to interview the Econet Services CEO, Darlington Mandivenga and Econet Wireless Mobile Money Executive, […]

  • Econet hires former M-PESA top talent for EcoCash

    Japhet Aritho, former Head of M-PESA Product Development and Operations at Safaricom When we attended the EcoCash tour yesterday, two developments at the company stood out: A new hire, former […]

  • EcoCash: a summary of developments on merchants

    Earlier today we attended a tour of the EcoCash mobile money service by Econet. Basically Econet invited a group of journos and bloggers to sample the service themselves, apparently, so […]

  • Econet says more than 200 kombis now accepting EcoCash

    Last week we reported that Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, is in the process of introducing its  mobile money service, EcoCash, in the transport sector. We got a tip from a student […]

  • Econet increases EcoCash mobile money transaction limits

    Econet, Zimbabwe’s largest telecommunications firm, and now arguably the largest mobile money transfer services provider in the country, announced recently the increase of daily and monthly transactions limits for its […]

  • Mobile money for public transport: EcoCash in the Kombi

    Today, a friend pointed us to a development on the EcoCash for business front. Specifically, in the public transport sector. Apparently Econet is already trialing its mobile payment service in […]

  • EcoCash mobile money registered users now over 1.7 million

    As Econet celebrates the first anniversary of its mobile money product, EcoCash, the company has announced that the service has grown to over 1.7 million registered users. In a press […]

  • Econet Press Release: Update on EcoCash upgrade

    When you are in Europe or America, it is possible to move around without any cash in your pocket as long as you have a credit card or a debit […]

  • EcoCash, PMT, inaccuracies, distortions and ethics

    We encountered a situation that surprised us yesterday. After posting a story on Econet’s move to the Comviva platform for the core technology powering EcoCash, one of the key sources […]

  • Econet migrates EcoCash technology system to Comviva platform

    We have been informed today that Econet is migrating the core technology powering its mobile money system, EcoCash, from a platform developed by South African based company, Pattern Matched Technologies, to […]

  • Now 270,000 active EcoCash users, and more than 1.5m registered

    We just picked up and thought we would share some insightful EcoCash stats in a report posted yesterday by the GSMA on their blog Mobile Money for the Unbanked. The […]

  • Econet Wireless Zimbabwe prepares to launch EcoCash merchant services

    Econet has started an advertising campaign for the introduction of merchant services on the EcoCash mobile money transfer system. The adverts, which started appearance recently in Zimbabwe’s newspapers, indicate that […]