Desperate Zimbabweans use cellphone transfers to get cash
Posted Aug 25, 2019 3:04 am.
HARARE, Zimbabwe — With inflation soaring and cash in short supply, many Zimbabweans transfer funds using their mobile phones and pay a premium to get currency.
Like many things that are in short supply in Zimbabwe, such as electricity, water and gas, cash is scarce and the country’s economic problems are blamed for rising tensions.
The shortage of currency notes and coins has spurred Zimbabwe to be ranked by a World Bank 2018 report as having one of the highest numbers of people in sub-Saharan Africa using cellphone transfers, what is called mobile money. More than 80% of all transactions in the country are conducted through mobile money, according to the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the country’s central bank.
The mobile money is how ordinary Zimbabweans get access to cash.
The Associated Press
