TechCabal Daily – Why did Zimbabwe ban mobile money services?

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However, since its reintroduction, the currency has lost value
quickly as inflation in the country has jumped to 786%. The government says mobile money services, used by 11 million people, are a major cause. It claims agents have been involved in black market currency dealings that undermine the fixed exchange rate. In May, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) called EcoCash, the country’s biggest mobile money service, a ponzi scheme.

In its latest move, the government claims it has “impeccable intelligence” that these services are conspiring to “sabotage the economy.” Hence the ban. However, the RBZ has softened the government’s
stance, especially since mobile money accounts for 84% of all transactions. The regulator has banned only agent services, bulk payment and merchant-merchant transactions. The government says these restrictions will remain until operators have “reformed to their original purpose and all the current phantom rates of exchange have converged into a genuine rate of exchange that is determined by market forces under the Foreign Currency Auction system.”

Access Bank, one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, was forced to review a stamp duty policy following social media backlash. The backlash started after the bank “discovered” that mandatory stamp duty charges on transactions for some accounts were not being collected. Under Nigeria’s Finance Bill which became active in February, all bank transactions above ₦10,000 attract a ₦50 stamp duty charge.

On June 22, Access Bank told customers it “recently discovered” the stamp duty was not charged between February and April. In what almost became a PR blunder, the bank told customers it would collect charges for this period and asked that “you [the customer] fund your account to accommodate this charge.” A backlash followed.

It was a perfect opportunity for fintech startups to push their value propositions and woo customers. Digital banks including Kuda Bank, Carbon, V Bank jumped at this with their zero-fee offerings on transactions.

Unclear if related, but on June 28, Access Bank abandoned its original plan and said it would pay past stamp duty charges on behalf of customers.