EcoCash

EcoCash, is a mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service, launched in 2011 by Econet Wireless, for its customers in Zimbabwe.[1][2][3][4] The platform has been targeted by the Zimbabwe government.[3][4] The company's headquarters is in the Econet Wireless Building in Borrowdale, a suburb of Harare, the largest city and capital of Zimbabwe.[5]

Econet allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money and pay for goods and services, including utility bills, from a mobile handset. Users can also buy pre-paid airtime or data bundles for themselves or others. Users can also redeem stored mobile money for cash. A fee for each service is deducted directly from the account stored on the mobile phone and accessed using a PIN.[6] Users can deposit and withdraw money, transfer money to other users, pay bills including water, electricity, cable, satellite and school fees, purchase airtime, and transfer money between the service and a regular bank account.[6] The service can be used from branches of ZimPost.[2]

As of November 2017, EcoCash was reported to have 6.7 million registered users,[7] compared with 2 million conventional bank account holders in the country.[7] It controlled 99.8 percent of the mobile money market in Zimbabwe at the time.[7] During the first six years of existence, the service processed over $23 billion.[7] In 2017, Zimbabwe's Gross Domestic Product was valued at US$22 billion.[8]