BAZ chief bemoans low uptake of mobile cash

BAZ chief bemoans low uptake of mobile cash
Published: 30 September 2013
The slow pace of adoption of mobile-based payment systems by the banking sector has exacerbated the current challenges being faced by the financial sector in delivering their mandate, Bankers' Association of Zimbabwe has said.

Addressing delegates at the inaugural Agro-business, Food and Nutrition Security Conference in Harare last week, BAZ president Mr George Guvamatanga said banks had failed to come up with an integrated approach in using mobile technologies.

"There has been a much slower pace of adoption on mobile-based payment systems due to lack of integrated approach by the banking sector in engaging with the mobile network operators and technology solution providers," he said.

He said mobile technology played a critical role in the development of agriculture by creating opportunities for improved interaction across the agriculture value chain.

He said the reason for the slow uptake on the part of banks was that they were highly regulated entities who had to conform to certain strict standards of operation.

Mr Guvamatanga said banks remained the face of financial services and would take an active role in promoting and delivering financial inclusion.

"Banks are actively working to harness the power on mobile technologies to improve the reach of financial services as part of a broader financial inclusion agenda," he said.

He said based on research being done in Zimbabwe, borrowing from experiences in Kenya's M-Pesa, there were significant gains to be reaped in getting people in the agricultural sector to use mobile platforms.

"Mobile technologies can be harnessed at various points of the value chain in agriculture starting from mobilising and lending resources, dissemination of information and providing remote extension services and making and receiving payments and aiding record keeping and data collection," Mr Guvamatanga said.

He noted that mobile platforms would enable banks to provide efficient, easy to use and accessible mobile electronic payment systems, particularly for high volume low value transactions and also enhance the ability to monitor credit performance.

He said this would enable rural farmers to access loans and repay them through mobile platforms making access to credit easier.

"Mobile technologies have also opened new frontiers and possibilities for branch-less banking, enabling banking services to be available in the remotest parts of the country where majority of farmers are found, without the need to invest in high cost brick and mortar infrastructure," he added.

Mr Guvamatanga urged Government to upgrade the legislative framework to remove constraints around interoperability and sharing of infrastructure to avoid over-investment in the telecoms sector which would ultimately lower the current high costs of mobile platforms for the benefit of the consumers.
- herald
Tags: BAZ,

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