Telecel Zimbabwe today has introduced its Telecash gold card, a debit card which can be used to pay for goods and services at any of the more than 5 000 ZimSwitch points of sale across the country.
Users can use the card to pay for groceries, DSTV subscriptions, restaurant and hotel bills, and many other goods and services or simply use it to withdraw cash at ZimSwitch branded ATMs.
“Since we launched telecash we have been looking at ways of broadening the offering on telecash. When we launched we started with only the basics such as sending and receiving money but now we are coming up with more functionalities,” said Telecel mobile financial services director Nkosinathi Ncube. “We have had support from partners in the retail sector. Mobile money had been struggling to make a mark in the retail sector with the sector complaining that using the mobile phone to pay for goods and services was blocking queues.”
The firm says the firm has worked closesly with banks and the retail network to see how best to address the problem. The card can alao be used by agents, including the big corporate brands such as OK, TM and Zimpost, as well as small corner shops had come on board despite the challenges some of them have been facing.
Mr Ncube said more than 25 percent of the company’s subscriber base had signed up on telecash. So far there had been around $18 million worth of telecash transactions. Mr Ncube said the company had already started talks with money transfer agents in places such as South Africa, United Kingdom and Botswana, countries where there are lots of Zimbabweans, in order to go beyond the local market. The corridors, he said would be open in a few weeks.
Telecel marketing director Octivius Kahiya said in the past few months it had introduced Telecel Go, which allows subscribers to call for as little as 10 cents per minute across networks, and the WhatsApp bundles. It was now the first mobile money transfer service to launch a debit card.
“Our goal is to become a formidable mobile money transfer system in Zimbabwe. We have made the product ubiquitous, affordable and convenient,” he said.
Registered active telecash subscribers can obtain the telecash card for free from any Telecel office or registered telecash agent.