Econet Agent Line – Are They Still Active?
Without a doubt, Ecocash has been a game-changer when it comes to financial transactions in Zimbabwe. They achieved this mainly through their huge network of independent agents throughout the country.
This strategy of incorporating independent agents caused them to grow and reach segments of the market that would otherwise be difficult to reach if they had tried to set up their own branches.
Within a short space of time, they had managed to become the platform with the most daily transactional traffic in the Zimbabwean financial sector. They managed to outpace banks and other mobile money wallets in this regard.
The bulk of the transactions on the Ecocash platform were in the informal sector, especially the parallel market. The runaway inflation in Zimbabwe led to the government setting up a task force to investigate the causes.
According to them, there was $9.8 billion dollars which was circulating outside of the formal banking sector.
The task force’s conclusion was that the Ecocash platform, especially agent lines, were being used to fuel parallel market transactions. This led to the suspension and eventual banning of agent lines in 2020.
To curtail rein in the parallel market, the Central bank introduced transaction limits on mobile money wallets. This measure, among others, has helped stabilise the local currency against other major currencies.
Although it was a bitter pill to swallow at the time, it turns out that it was a shrewd move on the part of the government.
Ecocash Merchant Accounts
Even though agent lines are now banned, merchant lines are still legal. They are a way for businesses to receive payments through Ecocash. The difference between Agent and Merchant accounts was that Agent lines were used mainly for cashing in and cashing out your Ecocash wallet.
Merchant accounts on the other hand are used for receiving payments from a business’ customers.
For more information on becoming a merchant email eocash@econet.co.zw or contact the helpline on 114