Econet's EcoCash can become the biggest banking platform

Mobile money platform, Eco-cash, has the potential to become the biggest banking platform in Zimbabwe, Deputy Prime Minister Arthur Mutambara has said.

Launched late last year by mobile network operator Econet Wireless, Eco-cash enables instant money transfers between subscribers across the country.

With the majority of the country's population living in the rural areas where they do not have access to banks, Eco-cash has the potential to become the most widely used banking platform.

Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara said it was critical that all service providers in the country take advantage of the information communication revolution.

"The biggest bank in the country is going to be Eco-cash," he told delegates at a local government conference.

"People have no access to brick and mortar banks but have access to cellphones."

Econet is the country's biggest mobile services firm, commanding over 60 percent of the market share with over six million subscribers.

A recent survey by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe established that the majority of Zimbabwe's rural population did not have access to banks.

The study established that rural people, who make up 70 percent of the population, had little or no access to financial services due to long distances to the nearest banks, low interest rates by banks on deposits, high bank charges, stringent account opening conditions and lack of information regarding financial services.

Eco-cash, which is targeted at the low end market, is facilitated by agents all over the country and allows easy transacting between subscribers.