EcoCash

Last updated

EcoCash (Pvt) Limited
Company type Subsidiary
EHZL
Industry Banking
Financial services Fintech
Nano Loans
Founded29 September 2011;12 years ago (2011-09-29) in Harare, Zimbabwe
Headquarters
Harare, Zimbabwe
Key people
 Strive Masiyiwa
( Founder)

Munyaradzi Nhamo
(Chief Operating Officer)

Eddie Chibi
(Group Chief Executive Officer)
Products Mobile banking
Website www.ecocash.co.zw/%20Homepage

EcoCash, is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service, launched in 2011 by Econet Wireless, for its customers in Zimbabwe. [1] [2] [3] [4] The platform has been targeted by the Zimbabwe government. [3] [4] The company's headquarters is in the EcoCash Holdings HQ along Liberation Legacy Road in Borrowdale, a suburb of Harare, the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe. [5]

Contents

Econet allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money and pay for goods and services, including utility bills, from a mobile handset. Users can also buy pre-paid airtime or data bundles for themselves or others. Users can also redeem stored mobile money for cash. A fee for each service is deducted directly from the account stored on the mobile phone and accessed using a PIN. [6] Users can deposit and withdraw money, transfer money to other users, pay bills including water, electricity, cable, satellite and school fees, purchase airtime, and transfer money between the service and a regular bank account. [6] The service can be used from branches of ZimPost. [2] EcoCash provides international remittance services in partnership with major global remittance partners such as MoneyGram [7] and PayPal [8] [9] [10]

As of November 2017, EcoCash was reported to have 6.7 million registered users, [11] compared with 2 million conventional bank account holders in the country. [11] It controlled 99.8 percent of the mobile money market in Zimbabwe at the time. [11] During the first six years of existence, the service processed over $23 billion. [11] In 2017, Zimbabwe's GDP was valued at US$22 billion. [12]

History

1.1 Early History

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, a wireless telecommunications company based in Zimbabwe announced in 2011 that they were launching a mobile money transfer service called EcoCash. [1] The service was primarily targeted at Econet subscribers who would send money via text message to recipients who would cash out funds at an EcoCash agent. [2] Large merchants such as OK Zimbabwe and TM Supermarket were recruited as partners for facilitating cash in and cash out transactions. [13] Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) were also recruited as partners in the service to broaden the reach and accessibility of the service. [14]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Eco-cash launch date". The Zimbabwean. Harare. 22 September 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Staff Writer (29 September 2011). "Econet announces the launch of EcoCash". Techzim. Harare: Techzim.co.zw. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Ecocash defies Zimbabwe order to suspend mobile money transactions". www.ft.com. 2020. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  4. 1 2 Karombo, Tawanda (12 May 2020). "Zimbabwe's central bank says the dominant mobile money platform is running a Ponzi scheme". Quartz. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  5. ↑ EcoCash (11 May 2018). "EcoCash Zimbabwe: Head Office". Harare: EcoCash Zimbabwe. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  6. 1 2 EcoCash (11 May 2018). "EcoCash Zimbabwe: About Us". Harare: EcoCash Zimbabwe. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  7. ↑ Gambanga, Nigel (21 October 2015). "EcoCash and MoneyGram officially launch remittances partnership". Techzim. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  8. ↑ NewsDay, The. "EcoCash partners PayPal as it widens its global remittance network". NewsDay. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  9. ↑ Chronicle, The (8 September 2022). "EcoCash, Paypal partnership drives international remittances". The Chronicle. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  10. ↑ Staff Writer (29 June 2022). "You can now receive PayPal transfers directly into an EcoCash USD wallet". Techzim. Retrieved 18 October 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Sengere, Leonard (10 November 2017). "EcoCash has processed over $23 billion since launch and that's not the only impressive figure". Harare: Techzim.co.zw. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  12. ↑ IMF (28 April 2018). "World GDP Ranking 2017: GDP by country: GDP, Current Prices: Source: IMF: World Economic Outlook (WEO) Database, April 2018". Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund (IMF). Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  13. ↑ Phil Levin. "Big ambition meets effective execution: How EcoCash is altering Zimbabwe's financial landscape" (PDF). gsma.com. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "EcoCash – How a telco turned a cash crisis into a cash cow". Digital Innovation and Transformation. Retrieved 18 October 2022.

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