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Business Reporter
Listed financial services provider EcoCash Limited says the review of the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) in January this year has positively impacted group revenue.
Chairperson Sherree Shereni in a statement accompanying the group’s results said; “Whilst the regulatory restrictive limits on the mobile money business, as well as the general cash economy on the US dollar transactions, put pressure on the revenue numbers, significant growth has been noted in transaction volumes and values following the reduction in IMTT from 4 percent to 2 percent in January 2023.”
EcoCash recorded revenue of $101,3 billion for the full-year period ended February 2023, compared to $96,8 billion in the same period last year, reflecting a 5 percent increase from prior year.
“78 percent of our revenue was driven by the fintech business followed by insurtech at 17 percent and lastly digital platforms at 5 percent, in line with the prior year’s performance,” Ms Shereni added.
In the period under review, the company introduced EcoCash US dollar (USD) wallet to consolidate its participation in the US dollar economy, which, according to official reports as of January 2023, accounted for 76 percent of total economic expenditure.
Ms Shereni added that “We are encouraged by the growth in customers, volume and value transacted. The reduction of Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT) on US dollar domestic money transfer transactions from 4 percent to 2 percent effective January 1, 2023, has helped in the adoption and use of the US dollar on digital money transfer services.”
According to the board chair, the company is continuously improving access and convenience for its customers by growing its distribution footprint across the country.
“We launched the EcoCash Junior wallet, a mobile wallet for children between the ages of 9 and 18, aimed at improving financial literacy and financial inclusion. This product is experiencing steady growth and will be key in the growth of our subscriber base in the future.
“Over the period, we launched the EcoCash Chatbot, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered virtual assistant that handles customer service queries. To date, this AI powered virtual assistant has provided services to over 381 000 customers,” she said.
EcoCash, in the period under review, also launched Bill Manager, an integrated bill payments platform for all major billers. The company said Bill Manager has helped to improve customers’ experience and real-time account settlement to regular billers through EcoCash.
The system has integrated with local municipalities, insurance players for premium collections, universities, credit stores, retailers and utilities and this is part of their plan to implement digital solutions to enhance value proposition, reduce customer pain points, and improve financial inclusion.
The group achieved earnings before tax margin of 7 percent against 18 percent in the prior year mainly due to the pressure on costs due to the prevailing operating environment and the exchange losses related to the debentures amounted to US$30,1 billion for the year under review.
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