Zimbabwe: InnBucks starts offering free remittance services

ZIMBABWE'S leading fintech solution and microfinance platform InnBucks has dropped charges to offer remittance services for free starting yesterday to make it cheaper for clients to use and more competitive in the market.

InnBucks will charge only US$1 for first time use, allowing customers unlimited transactions within the transacting month.

It says this is a game changer for its clients as removing transaction charges makes it cheaper to use the InnBucks wallet.

InnBucks last year reduced the fee to send amounts of money over US$5 from 5% to 3%. Sending US$5 or less became only 1%.

Now it is 0%.

InnBucks chief executive Daisy Zinyemba said the move was designed to help clients save money from charges and retain full value, while making the platform more  competitive to grow its market share.

“Our new business proposition is that starting today June 15, InnBucks will charge only US$1, allowing customers unlimited transactions in the transacting month,” she said.

“There will be no hidden fees. Clients only pay "US$1 for transaction charges within the month. Customers' account limits will remain the same: US$1000 for non-KYC (without a know-your-customer verification requirement) and US$2 000 for fully KYC’d customers (verifying identity of new customers).

“The US$1 only applies to transacting customers when they initiate their first transaction and will only be applied to customers with positive balances, thereafter, all transactions within the month will be free."

However, the 2% intermediated mobile transfer tax charge will still apply to all transactions.

A transaction in this case is any financial activity in the wallet (deposit, withdrawal, payment, buy for friends-send money).

“Removing transaction charges makes it cheaper to use the InnBucks wallet.

Customers can now make unlimited transactions within their account limits," Zinyemba said.

“Clients still need national identification documents to transact. Direct deposits are still not allowed.”

Founded by Simbisa Brands, a listed fast-foods and beverages local company with a wide footprint in Zimbabwe and across 10 African countries, Innbucks has now evolved into a wide financial platform offering various services, including digital payments, savings accounts, mobile wallets, micro-loans, mobile banking, and value-added services like airtime purchases.

It has become one of Zimbabwe’s most popular fintech platforms, with millions of users and a wide range of financial products.

Additionally, Innbucks has complied with all regulatory requirements and obtained licences to operate as a deposit-taking microfinance institution, further solidifying its position on the market.

The remittance market in Zimbabwe is huge.

The flow of remittances to the country is also big, with diaspora remittances from outside estimated at over US$1 billion per annum or 16% of total foreign exchange receipts.

SOURCE: NEWSDAY