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Econet Wireless says the recently introduced bond coins tie in well with efforts the company has made towards resolving the shortage of small change in the market.
Econet has a vast distribution channel, comprising some 15 000 EcoCash agents, shops and agents, and the company says it was encouraging all its trade partners to accept bond coins to add to the range of payment solutions already available for customers.
With the support of the RBZ, Econet has led the market in encouraging electronic payments in the economy.
The introduction of EcoCash, a platform on which a variety of payment methods are now possible, made a huge contribution in solving problems associated with the shortage of small change in the market.
With the introduction of bond coins, Econet customers and the transacting public will have even more options to pay exact amounts for the goods and services they buy and to derive real value from their money, Econet CEO Mr Douglas Mboweni said.
“All our Econet stores accept bond coins. As Econet, we recognise our central role in economic development, and we are committed to working with all stakeholders towards supporting such national programmes,” Mr Mboweni said.
This comes as the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) said local businesses must seriously consider revising their high cost business models and reduce their prices in line with economic fundamentals if they are to survive in the face of increasing competition from imports.
Central bank governor Dr John Mangudya said demand for goods and services in the country remained firm in spite of prevailing economic challenges.
But it is the high pricing by local firms that pushed consumers to buy imported products.
“The only way to be competitive in an open economy is to reduce prices,” Dr Mangudya said on the sidelines of a recent economic meeting.
“Businesses in this economy have been rounding up prices since 2009 but it is now time to round down.”
He said local products remained uncompetitive on the market due to high prices compared to imports.
As a result, most local businesses were complaining about reduced consumer demand when in fact imports of the same products were on the increase, he said.
“We need to be practical and pragmatic, there is no demand that is subdued in this economy because people are importing,” he said.
High levels of imports have seen the country’s balance of payments remaining in the red in over five years as imports continue to outrun exports.
Official figures show that the country’s trade deficit stood at $3 billion at the end of 2014.
Dr Mangudya said the tendency to overprice commodities and services as well as the ‘get rich quick” mentality carried over from the Zimbabwe dollar era were obstacles to economy recovery.
“Let us break away from the past, we need to change our business models,” he said.
He said the recent introduction of bond coins was also meant to allow local businesses to “round down” prices which had been rounded up in the past due to shortage of small change.
The Bond coins, which are at par with US dollar coins, are in denominations of 1c, 5c, 10c and 25c and were introduced in the market last December.
Zimbabwe has faced small change problems since the country adopted use of multi-currencies in 2009.
The central bank chief said reducing prices would also increase the buying power for consumers which meant that there would be no demand for salary increases especially when the economy is not performing.
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