This week has seen some interesting
developments in the Mobile money sector intitially stemming from the recent RBZ
directive banning Cash In and Cash Out prompted us to go on the streets to
analyze and assess the impact of this directive, especially for emerging
players such as NetOne’s mobile financial services product One Money. Speaking
to some of the One Money users , they revealed to our publication that they had
not experienced any challenges on the One Money platform and also unpacked some
of the unique benefits this platform has. They also expressed relief on the
restoration of the Cash In and Cash Out functionality by
the Reserve Bank in a Press Statement released yesterday.
We interviewed a One Money Agents who
spoke on condition of anonymity and said “We
are happy with the fact that the RBZ has reconsidered the Cash In and Cash Out
ban as some of us have been using this facility to service customers who would
have received their funds via OnePay from Cottco, which funds reflect as a Cash
In which is totally from legal activities.” He reiterated that “ not all agents are in the business of
selling cash or fuelling the forex market. Some of us have benefitted from our
agent lines as an enabler for ethical mobile money transactions and are
grateful of the service we receive from One Money”
This prompted us to reach out to NetOne and confirm if
indeed One Money has managed to stay afloat amidst developments within the
Mobile Financial Services Sector. Over the past 3 months ending 30 September
2019, OneMoney active subscribers grew by 97% from 215 000 subscribers to 425
000, which made us curious as to how this has been achieved.
The growth in NetOne’s OneMoney fortunes can be attributed to some unique offerings which have proved to be beneficial to the customers. A great example of this is the bulk payment facility – OnePay which has provided relief to several corporates as it offers convenient, seamless and instant multi-wallet salary disbursements. NetOne Head of Public Relations, Dr Eldrette Shereni confirmed this development and indicated that “the OnePay facility has been well received by several institutions including corporates mainly for salary and stipend payments, NGOs, farmers, as well as institutions that process grants and other social security payments only to mention a few .’
This facility is one of the feeders into the
OneMoney Ecosystem from an enterprise or B2B Level. At individual level, there
are several convenient methods which can be used to fund the One Money Wallet.
The most exciting is the fact that One Money is integrated to all 18 banks via
the ZIPIT Facility which allows clients to transfer funds seamlessly from bank
to wallet and vice versa using the ZIPIT Platform. Further to this, One Money
subscribers can send and receive funds through the Peer to Peer functionality
allowing them to send funds to their loved ones across the country, as well as
pay for goods and services to any NetOne number
Responding to the latest press statement
from RBZ relating to the restoration of the Cash In and Cash Out Dr Shereni also confirmed that “the Cash in and Cash Out functionality has
since been restored on One Money with Cash out limits now ZW$100 per transaction up to a
maximum of ZW$1,000 per day. Cash in limits are ZW$1,000 per transaction to a
maximum limit of ZW$10,000 per day as stipulated by the regulator – RBZ”
In order to create a sustainable ecosystem at grassroot
and community level, NetOne has recruited One Money Champions who are
individuals within communities to activate and register small shops, vendors,
commuter omnibuses etc. on One Money to enable them to pay for basic services
without the need for cash. This initiative is an empowerment tool for
communities who are now able to earn commissions for every successful
registration and activation onto One Money and is yielding results. In
addition, NetOne increased its distribution footprint through the creation of
over 1000 franchises across several communities and rural business centres to
ensure that they offer real time, on demand and round
the clock access to NetOne products & services
including the ability to register on One Money within the respective
communities.
Individuals can also earn money on the go through the One
TopUp facility which allows anyone to sell electronic airtime at a 10%
commission. By simply dialing *111*5# and following the prompts, one can sell
airtime which is credited instantly either to themselves or to a selected
number. This facility has been extremely popular especially amongst the youth
and is an opportunity for even the working class to generate additional income
through airtime sales.
One Money has also improved its
merchant network and this remains a critical focus for the business. However,
to enhance the customer experience and plug any merchant gaps, One Money comes
with a Zimswitch enabled debit card hence allowing customers to swipe at any
POS machine nationwide. In selected outlets, one actually does not even require
their phone or debit card as they can simply punch in their mobile number and
pin code directly to the POS machine which has redefined the shopping
experience in Zimbabwe.
NetOne realizes that often times a person may require emergency funds. One Money offers a microloan dubbed Katsaona which allows someone to borrow up to ZWL$50 in a fast, easy process which takes less than 3 minutes. The loan can be repaid within 30 days with a 10% interest charge. Last week, NetOne CEO Mr Lazarus Muchenje also unveiled yet another service accessible via the One Money platform and that is electronic payments to Zimra at both business and individual level. This service is accessible by simply dialing *554#.
Across the market, mobile money services have seen an
upsurge in transactions volumes in line with the scarcity of cash and NetOne’s
investment in digital payment solutions is certainly paying off.
