Econet brings Tap and Pay cards to Zimbabwe

Econet has taken Zimbabwe towards being a cashless society by introducing the Ecocash debit card, known as “Tap and Pay”.

Ecocash is a mobile money transfer service offered by Econet and the new debit card will be the first contactless offering in Zimbabwe. The Tap and Pay method will see customers making transactions of up to a US$100 daily cap whereby they will no longer have to enter a PIN number at a point of sale terminal.

“All they need is to tap the machine and payment is recognised. This will eliminate time wasting at tills and other pay points,” Econet said on Monday.

“(The Ecocash debit card) is also supported by the largest number of point-of-sale terminals, as more than 50% of all payment terminals in the country are part of Ecocash.” Econet Services chief executive officer Jimmy Shindi said Zimbabwe “now has the same cashless infrastructure in place as the most advanced economies in the world”.

He said carrying cash in the wallet was now an option, but not a necessity. “Cash is very expensive to carry around, and it has many inconveniences particularly in Zimbabwe because of the US dollar. Now you can just do everything by (using the) wallet card,” he said.

The Tap and Pay service, Econet said, was expected to stimulate retail sales as people could buy goods for as little as US$0,10 using the card. The largest mobile network company by subscriber base said the service would be enjoyed across TM supermarkets, OK supermarkets, SPAR supermarkets and Innscor Africa outlets as well as several other retail outlets in the country.

The Ecocash card, which is part of MasterCard, makes it possible for customers to move money directly into it from their bank accounts.

Through MasterCard, it will make it easier for customers to transact from anywhere in the world.

source:The Citizen