The banking and local financial services sector has a huge role to play in fostering financial inclusivity in Zimbabwe and must continue to be innovative, a Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) official has said.
BY OUR STAFF
There has been an outcry over the past recent months by the banking sector over how mobile network operators have invaded their operating space.
However, the dawn of a new transaction era has brought about communication technologies and mobile money transfers that have forced banks to adapt or risk closure in an increasingly illiquid Zimbabwean economy.
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) have been at the forefront of mobile financial transactions.
Speaking at the 20th anniversary of ZimSwitch in the capital last week, RBZ chief dealer for Money and Capital Markets, William Manhimanzi said since the launch of ZimSwitch a lot had changed over the years.
ZimSwitch is a local third party transaction acquiring business launched in the 1990s and is affiliated to 13 commercial banks which operate a network of well over 300 point of sale terminals.
“As the central bank, our role is to approve initiatives that promote financial inclusion and we see opportunities for co-operation. I don’t see where MNOs are taking over but if they are, so what? If this helps in financial inclusivity, that’s good,” he said.
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Manhimanzi said the traditional brick and mortar model for banks was old and gone due to technological changes.
“We are now in a multi-currency environment and there has been a mobile phone revolution. I think they have brought a revolution in terms of how we do things,” he said, adding that there has been a trend where the economy is informalising in urban areas.
According to the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the mobile penetration rate is estimated at 106% and 13 million subscribers are registered on mobile networks.
Only 24% of the population has access to banking services, with 70% of the population being rural based.
Manhimanzi took a swipe at mobile operators who were failing to share infrastructure as stipulated by law.
“With regard to interoperability, we have three different mobile operators erecting boosters in the same proximity. People are not co-operating in terms of infrastructure sharing, these costs could be reduced if there is co-operation,” he said.
ZimSwitch general manager Cyril Nyatsanza said the company’s job “is to help revive industry, we want to facilitate the growth of the economy through financial inclusion”.
Recent reports show that technological developments have placed Kenya at the forefront of the “mobile money boom” in Africa. Statistics indicate that Kenya has become the largest mobile money market in the East African region.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya, mobile money transfer service providers reached close to US$23 billion through 733 million transactions in 2013 alone.
A considerable number of people in African countries remain unbanked, a situation which has challenged banks on how best to access them.
However, through the mobile money revolution, Kenya has promoted financial inclusivity through accessing the majority of unbanked people in urban and rural areas by providing financial services.
