A statutory instrument on mobile money working across providers was gazetted while we weren’t looking [download]

27 March was the day and while we were all screaming about Covid-19 the government of Zimbabwe published Statutory Instrument 80 of 2020 on banking.

The instrument looks at how mobile money providers work including how they can get registered.

The money shot for many is in section 4:

4. (1) It shall be mandatory for every money transmission provider and mobile banking provider shall be connected to a national
   payment switch, as shall be directed by written notice by the Reserve Bank from time to time that enables interoperability of payments systems and services.

That has been interpreted as saying that money will be required to be able to be sent from EcoCash to OneMoney and others.

This, could be a step towards the elusive mobile number interoperability too as customers feel locked to a network.

The implications raise a few questions. If as suggested it is all connected to a national payment system, what does it mean for speed of execution if it and all its mess could be clogged. Thag said, the Zimbabwe International Exchange (Zinx) was created it was rather efficient although volumes of transactions could be something that remains an issue. If there are a gang of transactions coming from Econet to NetOne at the same time, will it be able to handle it.

It is a process.

Veritas Zimbabwe provides a pretty awesome summary as to what the SI covers:

This SI lays down additional requirements to be complied with by money transmission providers and mobile banking providers, including the need to be licensed by the Reserve Bank [RBZ], obligatory periodical reporting to RBZ, read-only real-time access to payment systems for RBZ, and provision of data protection and cyber security.  The RBZ is given the power to direct providers to take steps to connect to a national payment switch system that interfaces with POS, ATM and mobile payment systems, and e-commerce portals and regional and international platforms.  Defaulters will be subject to a range of civil penalties imposable by RBZ.

Download the full statutory instrument below

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