System upgrades by Zimbabwe’s biggest mobile money service, Ecocash, have left businesses unable to transact, and consumers cash-strapped. Causing severe disruptions in a country that relies heavily on electronic platforms to do business.
EcoCash, is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service, launched in 2011 by Econet Wireless, for its customers in Zimbabwe.
It enables you to open and operate an EcoCash $ave bank account through your mobile phone, without having to visit any bank to fill out bank account opening forms.
It also provides you with the ability to move money in and out of your EcoCash $ave savings account to your ECOCASH account at no charge.
Mobile and card payments result in about 98% of all money transactions according to the Southern African nation’s finance ministry. Econet says it processes about seven million transactions daily in a country with a population of about 14 million people.
The upgrades on the Ecocash system, a unit of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, was due for completion on 17 November. However, the system has been plagued by instability.
Technicians are working to restore services as soon as possible – Eddie Chibi, CEO of Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe, which runs Ecocash, said in an e-mailed statement on Thursday.
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EcoCash Service is Back
“Some work is still continuing on the optimisation of a few components that involve integration to third parties,” Chibi said.
Many retailers and other businesses in the capital, Harare, meanwhile, are only taking payments by cash or card.
The lack of cash is a result of hyperinflation that forced the government to abandon its own currency a decade ago. Authorities reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar in June but it has since lost almost 85% of its value against the American Dollar.
There are reports that the service is back on as subscribers got messages indicating so.
“Update: Thank you for your support. All services are up. Kindly bear with us as we clear any service issues you may experience. Sincere apologies for the inconvenience.”
The message reads.
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