Could OneMoney Be The Answer To Netone Mobile Money Problems?

Mobile network provider NetOne has rebranded the mobile money facility OneWallet to OneMoney and linked it to a debit card usable on the ZimSwitch platform. Netone first launched its One Wallet mobile money service in 2011 and the relaunched second time in 2013.Since the relaunch, NetOne had made an advance payment of about $600 000 for OneWallet yet the company only recouped about $1 000 per month from the business venture.

OneMoney will be officially launched soon and has already been rolled out at NetOne shops around Zimbabwe.

According to NetOne acting chief executive officer Mr. Brian Mutandiro, the relaunch will cost more than $2 million, which includes equipment and its customisation, as well as rolling it out.

OneMoney’s new technology partner is the one responsible for the success of Kenya’s M-Pesa mobile money platform under Safaricom, Kenya’s leading mobile network operator.

Mobile Money is a fast-moving space, and a lot happened in 2011. Hence Netone feels the need to rebrand its mobile service.

Netone unveiled the new platform and the cards in Murehwa two weeks ago and NetOne customers have been walking into NetOne shops to buying their OneMoney debit card at a cost $3.

Ecocash is presently the most widely used mobile money platform in the country and has become the largest bank by subscriber base and volume of transactions. The service has handled $23billion worth of transactions since inception; a serious some of the money by any standard.

OneWallet had a number of issues which we hope they addressed on OneMoney if they want to take the market share from EcoCash. They have addressed the debit card issue and the link to bank accounts.

Mobile money still remains largely cash-based: Surprisingly, many mobile money services actually rely on cash one way or another. OneMoney has been linking with banks and as of this writing, they have linked with over 5 banks which include MBCA, FBC, CBZ, Cabs, Agribank, Stanbic, and POSB. Meaning you can move your money to and from to the wallet account.

OneMoney has address the current cash crisis, for people who don’t have cash into an e-wallet to can move the money from their bank account to make a transaction via a phone menu, this explicit business strategy will generate volume.

OneMoney is now the cheapest mobile money service in Zimbabwe, rates below :

People who choose to hold money in their e-wallets for more than just a few days (80 percent of mobile money users in Zimbabwe) say they do so for emergencies and unplanned purchases, but eventually, transact using mobile money.

People were not using OneWallets because there simply was not enough convincing uses for it besides paying ZESA. Have you ever seen an independent OneWallet agent in your neighborhood, street corners or even CBD? Although a few agents can be encountered here and there, I have not been able to cash in or cash out from them.

Have you ever seen an independent OneWallet agent in your neighborhood, street corner ? Although a few agents can be encountered here and there, I have not been able to cash in or cash out from them.

While customers’ need for cashing in and out might be met with agent networks that ensure a presence every few blocks, to be relevant in retail payments, OneMoney needs to be present at multiple locations on virtually every street.

Agent networks already give Netone plenty of headaches. Do they really have the stomach and the capital to build another sprawling distribution network, ten times larger than the leading Mobile Money service?

OneMoney should fill the need of providing better banking services and, as well as better reach for poor rural residents than banks or standard money transfer services. Mobile money has changed commerce and eased trade by breaking the rigid rules of high finance and banking transactions.

The main advantages are quite clear. Mobile money is instant, there’s no delay to settle transactions. You only need a mobile phone, you don’t have to worry about the relationships with the banks and the payment processing companies.

OneMoney should partner with international money transfer service like World Remit since they are over 4 Million Zimbabweans living outside. This will offer alternative remittance services which are cheaper than traditional methods that are hard to track and often more expensive. And also so are people are now moving away from these informal networks.

While airtime purchases, bill payments, and remittances are still the top uses of most mobile money services, there has always been an expectation that a range of financial products would be linked to mobile wallets. Despite various experiments and trials, no particular service has shown promise, until now. M-Shwari, a savings and credit product from Safaricom and Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), has changed that, registering phenomenal uptake. The product enables M-PESA subscribers registered for at least six months to get a loan, anywhere from $1.15 to $235 for a 30-day term, instantly into their e-wallets. The terms of their first loan are primarily based on data analysis of their use of M-PESA, voice, and data on their cell phones. M-Shwari has now reached over 5 million active users with a collective deposit amount of 26 billion Kenyan shillings and a loan balance of $5.2 billion.

We truly hope OneMoney can give EcoCash a run for its Money.