Online Reporter
Tapiwanashe Mangwiro
Banking experts and technopreneurs have called for increased collaboration among stakeholders to accelerate the country’s transition to a digital economy.
This comes as the adoption of digital systems has become an inevitable global reality to which everyone must adapt to remain relevant.
Speaking at the ongoing Zimswitch Digital Symposium in Nyanga, ZimSwitch electronic payments chief executive Mr Zabron Chilakalaka said the indaba should be regarded as more than an industry gathering.
He described it as a strategic assembly to shape the country’s next digital leap, stressing that the financial services sector could no longer afford fragmented approaches.
“The winners of this hyper-digital world will not be the biggest, they will be the boldest, the fastest and the most collaborative,” he told delegates. “We are not competing against each other but against irrelevance in a world where speed, resilience and integration define success.”
Mr Chilakalaka acknowledged existing hurdles, including the dominance of cash in domestic transactions, infrastructure gaps and slow penetration of digital payment systems in Zimbabwe. However, he noted that the foundations were already in place.
“ZimSwitch has laid the digital pipes and is ready to scale with banks and service providers. Our mission is to enable, connect and catalyse,” he said, urging stakeholders to align strategy with execution to meet national development goals.
Echoing the call for decisive action, Mr Luckson Madziwa, the managing director of Xplug Solutions, warned that Zimbabwe’s financial sector risked stalling if it continued to rely on outdated Know Your Customer (KYC) models.
Xplug Technology Services is a subsidiary of the NMBZ Holding, whose objective is to use technology to transform any size of business to achieve growth, agility and composability.
“Most institutions still depend on photocopies of IDs and utility bills,” he said.
“This duplication frustrates customers, increases fraud risks and discourages financial inclusion. If we have already embraced e-passports at our airports, why are we still queuing in banking halls with photocopies of IDs?”
Mr Madziwa argued that digital identity was now central to economic resilience, pointing to global shifts in commerce and payments.
He noted that global remittance flows rose from US$865 billion in 2023 to US$905 billion in 2024, while Africa processed US$1,1 trillion in mobile money transactions last year, representing 65 percent of the world’s total.
“Zimbabwe’s financial inclusion increased from 77 percent in 2014 to 88 percent in 2022, mainly because of mobile money. Sustaining that progress now depends on trusted digital identity systems that are fast, secure and inclusive,” he said.
Mr Madziwa proposed a centralised digital identity ecosystem underpinned by a shared KYC (know your customer) application programming interface (API) linking banks, mobile operators, regulators and government registries.
“A centralised platform would allow real-time verification, cut onboarding from days to minutes and reduce fraud through cross-checking multiple data points,” he said. “It would also ensure rural and unbanked communities are not left behind.”
He called on regulators to create innovation sandboxes for safe testing of biometric, AI and blockchain-based verification tools, while aligning Zimbabwe’s frameworks with global standards such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the African union Data Policy Framework.
“Without harmonised standards, we end up with silos, duplication and inconsistent verification,” he warned. “Trust is central, and to stay competitive, our frameworks must meet international benchmarks.”
According to Mr Chilakalaka, “Digital transformation is now a battlefield where the fragmented fail and the uncoordinated fall behind.”
Mr Madziwa agreed, stressing that collaboration had to drive every initiative.
“This is not just about technology. It is about leadership. We need bold collaboration to unlock efficiencies, reduce fraud and build consumer trust,” he said.
The experts implored banks, fintechs, mobile operators and regulators to commit to collective action.
Mr Chilakalaka said ZimSwitch was ready to play its role as an enabler, while Mr Madziwa urged Zimbabwean corporate entities to move decisively away from paper-based verification.
“The time to bridge this gap is now,” Mr Madziwa said. “Through collaboration, innovation and bold leadership, we can build a secure digital ecosystem that supports growth, inclusion and trust.”
