Zimbabwe’s central bank has suspended all “mobile money agents” transactions in a bid control to hyperinflation in the country.
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Zimbabwe suspended all transactions carried out by “mobile money agents” this week, and has limited the payment sizes through other processors.
This will affect close to 84.8 percent of all transactions because most mobile money transactions are done through agents around Zimbabwe.
Residents with money stored in any mobile money providers will need to visit a local bank to withdraw their funds.
In a statement, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said the move is necessary to, “Protect consumers on mobile money platforms which have been abused by unscrupulous and nonpartisan individuals and entities to create instability and inefficiencies in the economy.”
The government of Zimbabwe is struggling to maintain a uniform exchange rate for the Zimdollar pegged $1: ZWL 57 as against the $1:ZWL 95 sold on the streets of Harare.
This has deeply affected Ecocash, the largest mobile money operator in Zimbabwe. Other top mobile money operators such as One Money, Telecash and MyCash will also be affected.
Zimbabweans are not left out because most of the residents use mobile money services accounting 84.8% of all transaction volumes and 22.6% of value in the last quarter of 2019, according to the country’s central bank.
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Tony Chimdiuto