Steward Bank and EcoCash Customers Will Soon be Able to Receive
Funds from Abroad Directly into their Bank Accounts or Mobile Money
Wallets
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BARCELONA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
At Mobile World Congress today, MasterCard
announced a partnership with Steward
Bank, Zimbabwe’s most innovative bank, which will make remittance
services available to the bank’s more than 1.5
million account holders. For the first time, the bank’s customers
will be able to receive funds sent by family and friends abroad directly
into their Steward Bank accounts.
This is through international money transfer hub HomeSend,
a joint venture between MasterCard,
eServGlobal
and BICS.
Steward Bank is the first Zimbabwean bank to join the global HomeSend
network.
In the next phase, Steward Bank’s sister company EcoCash will soon
connect to HomeSend, enabling more than four million EcoCash mobile
money customers to receive remittances into their mobile money wallets,
after which they can pay bills, pay merchants, send money and cash out.
Those who hold a MasterCard Debit Companion card linked to their EcoCash
wallets will also be able to withdraw money from MasterCard-licensed
ATMs and pay for goods and services at millions of merchants that accept
MasterCard payment cards, both in Zimbabwe and internationally.
“Remittances are an important source of foreign currency into Zimbabwe,
amounting to US$1.8
billion in 2013 received via transfer agencies and formal channels,”
said Dr. Lance Mambondiani, Acting CEO, Steward Bank. “Thousands of
under-banked Zimbabwean families are dependent on funds sent by
relatives working in other countries. Now, through the partnership with
MasterCard and HomeSend, these citizens have access to affordable,
convenient money transfer services.”
The International Organisation for Migration estimates that as many as four
million Zimbabweans live abroad. Given estimates that Zimbabwe’s
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was about
US$13.5 billion in 2013, remittances received from these individuals
through formal channels alone contributed about 13 percent to the
country’s GDP.
“Zimbabweans in the Diaspora are increasingly playing an important role
in the development of the country through remittances. However, the
cost of transferring money to the country was high until now, and a
large proportion of remittances were sent informally in cash,” said
Charlton Goredema, Vice President and Area Business Head, Southern
Africa and Emerging Markets, MasterCard. “Funds sent and received via
informal channels are vulnerable to theft, loss and shrinkage due to
charges levied for transporting cash between countries.”
“By digitizing and formalising remittance payments, we are further
contributing to the growth and development of Zimbabwe’s economy,” he
says.
Zimbabweans living abroad can send funds via a range of channels
including participating MasterCard financial services institutions and
HomeSend’s partners: mHITs (Australia), Skrill (worldwide), Hello Paisa
(South Africa) and Daytona Capital Management (UK).
Find a complete list of MasterCard’s news announcements from Mobile
World Congress in our Digital
Press Kit and follow us @MasterCardNews #WhatsNext to join
the conversation.
About MasterCard
MasterCard
(NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com,
is a technology company in the global payments industry. We
operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting
consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses
in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and
solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping,
traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more
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Source: MasterCard Incorporated