Zimswitch eyes new platform for bulk payments

Published: 08 May 2018

ZIMSWITCH is in final stages to introduce an electronic transacting system for bulk payments to relieve pressure on the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system.

Zimswitch deputy general manager Zabron Chilakalaka told guests at the just-ended Zimswitch conference in Victoria Falls that the new platform, Zeepay, would cater for bulk payments and will not result in instant funds transfer.

The conference was meant to discuss ways to sustain digital payments, the role of banks in creating interoperability and Sadc payments strategy in the near future among others.

"We are in the testing mode, to bring this to the market. We are looking at second half of 2018 and that is when we will be availing the system to our bank and banks extend to their customers who are corporates and individuals.

"What we are bringing with Zeepay is the ability to do real time and near real time credits and debits, so by credits you're sending money from bank to bank, so essentially this you can do as a single payment, single transaction or in batches," he said.

"The credit platform enables you to do your bulk payments to include salaries for big players like the tobacco auctioneers. It also comes with debits module as it enables one to collect payments so it comes with mandate where by a lender can talk to your bank to say on such a date, I need to collect $3 000 from so and so and this automatically happens through the mandate that is set that comes with the system.

"It works almost the same like stop order, but our system now generates the instruction to collect funds."

Chilakalaka said they were in final talks with the central bank with regards to the transaction limit per corporate.

"At this moment, we have not yet agreed on transactions limit with the central bank but essentially it should give relief to the RTGS that is doing low value and high value transactions systems, so essentially what we are trying to do is to take the high value payments into this platform."

The conference was running under the theme, Sustaining Digital Payments in Zimbabwe and Creating a Gateway into Sadc.

- newsday

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