Zimbabwe’s Deposit Protection Corporation corporate secretary Vusi Vuma has called on the Zimbabwean government to create legislation that will regulate mobile banking activities, as he claims service providers are abusing the system.
“Most mobile operators in the country have come into the banking system but there is no legislation to regulate their activities. We need legislation for this sector because we may find ourselves in serious fraud cases if the practice continues unabated,” he said.
Three of the largest mobile operators in Zimbabwe are offering mobile banking services – Econet, Telecel and NetOne – and since the adoption of multiple foreign currencies in 2009, the mobile banking system in Zimbabwe has been modelled on Kenya’s successful M-Pesa service.
Vuma strengthened his argument by adding that Kenya implemented the necessary legislation regulating M-Pesa transactions when the service started. “We have told the Ministry of Finance about this issue and they assured us that they would be looking into it,” he added.
According to The Herald, “in Zimbabwe, Econet Wireless’ EcoCash facility has connected over one million users since its launch in September last year. Analysts contend that the launch of mobile banking services in Zimbabwe has ushered a new era in delivery of banking products to the public.”
Charlie Fripp – Consumer Tech editor
