CBZ clients fail to get monies paid through RTGS system

transfer of money takes place from one bank branch to another bank branch on a “real time and gross setttlement” basis.
The mechanism is the fastest possible money transfer system through the banking channel as the settlement takes place in “real time” which means payment transaction is not queued or staggered subjecting the transaction for any waiting periods.
This effectively means the transaction is settled as soon as it is processed without bunching with any other transaction.
In separate interviews, some of the Bulawayo firms who make transactions through CBZ said since the festive season RTGS issued by the bank have not been effective.
The company representatives who refused to be named for professional reasons said they have not received any communication with regards to the ineffectiveness of the RTGS.
“Our organisation supplied a certain company in Bulawayo a few weeks ago and the payment was made through the RTGS system. And transacting using the RTGS issued by CBZ has not been as effective as it should because it is almost a week now (last Friday) since the date of the transaction and no payment has been received,” said an official from one of the affected companies.
The official added: “When transacting through the RTGS system, it should take less than 24 hours to process the transactions but now it has exceeded the time limit. I think CBZ is insolvent and they need to be exposed because they have never communicated the challenges they are facing.”
Another official from a reputable organisation in Bulawayo said they have not been able to settle payments using RTGS issued by CBZ since December last year.
The official said the development had compromised their operations as funds paid by their debtors using RTGS from the bank were yet to be received.
“We have been facing challenges when transacting using the RTGS facility issued by CBZ. When we ask the officials at the bank we are told to be patient as the challenge will soon be addressed and we have waited for more than a month and it seems nothing is working out to address whatever the challenge they are facing,” the official said.
Contacted for comment CBZ chief executive Dr John Mangudya said: “What is happening is during the festive season we processed high value and high volume transactions like critical Government payments and we ended up prioritising those at the expense of other transactions. We have overcome the challenge we have been facing and we would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
The high value and high volume transactions drained most of the liquidity causing serious challenges on RTGS.
While presenting the monetary policy statement in Harare last week, Reserve Bank Governor Dr Gideon Gono announced all banks were called upon to stagger payments of high value and high volume transactions to avoid jamming the system.
And to facilitate smooth payment transactions as well as avoiding illegal externalisation of cash, all financial institutions have been called upon to moderate cash payments to a maximum of $10 000.
Transactions for any amount above $10 000 to $20 000 now require 24 hours notice while any transaction above $20 000 to $30 000 needs a 48-hour notice and any amount between $40 000 and $50 000 requires 96 hours and five days notice for amounts above $50 000.