Online Reporter
Business Reporter
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has set June 2026 as the deadline for mobile network operators to cleanse their customer databases of unverified accounts, while the nano-loans they offer should now be underwritten by commercial banks and placed on bank balance sheets.
Presenting the 2026 Monetary Policy Statement today, RBZ Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu said the central bank is going to audit that by the end of June.
“Before the end of June this year, mobile network operators must have, with the assistance of the Registrar General, screened all their accounts and eliminated any account that cannot be validated by a valid ID,” Dr Mushayavanhu said.
The move is aimed at combating money laundering and the proliferation of anonymous accounts used for illicit financial flows.
“We cannot have an environment where people are laundering money through mobile money accounts. We will not allow that. So they must start cleaning up their databases with immediate effect.”
Dr Mushayavanhu also extended the banking sector’s zero-fee regime for small-value transactions to mobile network operators, dismissing arguments that they should be exempt as they are not banks.
“When the banks agreed to charge no fees for transactions between zero and five dollars or equivalent, the mobile network operators thought they were not affected,” he said. “They want to be banks when it suits them, but they don’t want to be banks when it doesn’t suit. So this zero to five free of bank charges applies to them as well.
“We want the public to let us know if they are charged for a transaction below five dollars by a mobile network operator and we will revoke that operator’s licence to offer payment services,” Dr Mushayavanhu said.
The Governor went on to speak strongly against mobile network operators offering instant microloans, which he described as the creation of unbacked money outside the regulated financial system.
“We have noticed that mobile network operators are issuing nano-loans. They say when you run out of airtime, you want something like 10 dollars, just dial this code and get a loan.”
The Governor said such lending would no longer be permitted to occur outside the regulated banking framework.
“All these nano-loans must be underwritten by a commercial bank. They must be sitting on the balance sheet of the commercial bank, and the central bank is going to audit that.”
The measures represent a significant tightening of the regulatory environment for mobile network operators, who have increasingly expanded into financial services without being subject to the full suite of banking regulations.
The RBZ’s actions aim to close regulatory arbitrage opportunities and ensure that all entities engaged in financial intermediation operate on a level playing field with appropriate prudential oversight.
Peter Tanyanyiwa