Telecel introduces telecash gold card

Telecel Zimbabwe today (Wednesday) launched 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.

Announcing the introduction of the telecash gold card at a Press conference at the company's head office, Telecel mobile financial services director Nkosinathi Ncube said the debit card was a first from a mobile money transfer service provider.

The card can be used to pay for groceries, DSTV subscriptions, restaurant and hotel bills, and many other goods and services. It can also be used to withdraw cash at ZimSwitch branded automated teller machines (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 Mr Ncube.

He said the company had been working with the retail sector to facilitate the launch of the telecash gold card.

"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.

"We went on to consult widely and worked closely with banks and the retail network to see how best to address the problem, which saw the introduction of the telecash gold card," he said.

Mr Ncube said since the launch of telecash the response on the platform had been good. A good number of 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.

"Some of our agents have had challenges, some of which have been addressed by the regulator. The customers have been supportive too and the business continues to grow," said Mr Ncube.

"As Telecel we will continue to bring in more services through telecash. We believe subscribers should always be given value. It is not enough to just give them mobile money services but come up with more exciting products," he said.

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.

Asked if the company had any plans to include the diaspora market, 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 Telecel was moving forward in a formidable way.
He 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.