Mobile network operators to provide Bureau-de-Change services
TREASURY has engaged mobile network operators in the country to establish BureauDe-Changes on their platforms as well as the reinstatement of their agents to provide cash, ultimately dealing with the black market that is fuelled by illegal money changers.
This was revealed by the Deputy Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, David Mnangagwa while responding to contributions by members of the National Assembly in a motion on the amendment to the schedule of the Exchange Control Act Notice 2024, on Wednesday.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said they have analysed the black market which they divided into four parts, with the first part being importers, the second; individuals who want petty cash, the third money launderers while the fourth is made up of those who evade tax.
Traditionally, because there was no foreign currency available, Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said the importers would go to the streets and dealers.
“Because we had an auction which probably was not accessible to everybody, the remnants then went to the black market. What the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Governor has done to address this first cluster of people is that he has said anyone with a genuine import invoice should go to their bank and they will get their foreign currency.
“If you want to import whatever it is you are selling in your grocery store or an invoice for school fees, for example — all you need is go to your bank and you will get the foreign currency for that. The Governor has enough foreign currency to buy all the ZiG that is in the market three times over. This is the structure of the currency,” he said.
The Deputy Minister said if the banks decide that they want to hold on to their foreign currency, if the willing sellers decide they want to hold on to their currency, the RBZ will come in
and satisfy those invoices which means that there is no reason for the first group to go on to the black market.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said the second group touches all constituents including the youth, women and people in rural areas who might not necessarily want to export, but need foreign currency as petty cash.
He said this group is not necessarily malicious but still needs foreign currency for their day-today use.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said as included in the Monetary Policy Statement they are involving the private sector and in this case, they have reached out to mobile network operators for the re-establishment of Bureau De Changes.
“I will point out Econet in particular because of the history that they have dating back to a few years when the licenses for agencies got suspended. We called Econet for national duty and asked them to come forward and come up with a solution knowing that we have the Monetary Policy Statement that needs to be financially inclusive.
“We requested two things from them (Econet, Netone and Telecel). Firstly, we have people who want to transact in small amounts. Sometimes people just want to see US$20 or US$50 in their pocket. We said can we not have a Netcash platform, a Bureau-De-Change that can allow exchange from ZiG to USD and from USD to ZiG?” said the Deputy Minister.
“That is currently under discussion and you should see that happening in the next few weeks. This is important because it will remove the need for those who want to use small amounts of USD for their day-to-day use. They do not need to be going onto the streets and getting caught up in the melee of the FIU operations where money changers are being chased by the police,” he added.
Deputy Minister Mnangagwa said after the conversation on the Bureau-De-Change or mobile money platform which everybody could access, someone might still want to have physical cash leading to the need to reinstate agents.
“These are the EcoCcash agents where you would go and cash out and cash in. This is also under discussion and will be coming in, in the next few weeks. This means that our rural constituents will be able to access ZiG and USD at these agents. So, these issues are being addressed through a combination of Government and private sector efforts.
“The nitty-gritty and administrative issues are still being ironed out but the framework is in place. This means that in terms of financial inclusion in this second bracket of our people who are looking for foreign currency, no one and no place will be left behind,” he said.
He said the third and fourth groups, which are money launderers and tax evaders will have the RBZ’s Financial Intelligence Unit actively looking for them, so as to bring them to book. — @nyeve14