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TELECEL Zimbabwe has launched a mobile money transfer platform known as Telecash to compete with other products already on the market.Telecash’s main rivals will be EcoCash and One Wallet operated by Econet and NetOne respectively.
Like EcoCash, which is presently the most widely used mobile money platform in the country, Telecash allows users to conduct transactions, even across mobile networks, using the cellphone without going to a bank.
Telecel Zimbabwe mobile financial services director Nkosinathi Ncube said Telecash already had 1,600 agents across the country.
“Telecash is an electronic wallet service that allows mobile phones to be used to send money to another person with a mobile phone, regardless of network, as well as pay for groceries, bills, airtime and other goods and services,” he said.
“Telecash is the first mobile product that has addressed the issue of inter-operability,” he added while trying to differentiate it with main rival EcoCash.
While accessibility by other operators such as banks is one issue that has dogged EcoCash, Telecash is interlinked to Zimswitch, which connects the majority of Zimbabwe’s commercial banks.
It also allows deposits into any bank account held at a bank which belongs to ZimSwitch. Ncube said Telecel, the second largest mobile phone operator by subscriber base, was open to discussions with other networks to allow users to make direct money transfers into accounts or wallets. Telecel’s main banking partners are Afrasia and CBZ Bank.
General manager Angeline Vere said Telecash was a “simple and affordable service” compared to others on the market. The company is, however, yet to make public the rates that would be charged for money transfers but has stressed that no monthly account maintenance charges would be levied.
Just like EcoCash, Telecash transaction limits have been set at $500 per transaction, $1,000 per day and $5,000 per month.
Telecash can also be used to pay bills to major service providers such as power utility Zesa Holdings and the City of Harare.
Officials were evasive on how much the mobile network has invested into the product, opting to say “couple of millions.’ – New Ziana
Online Reporter