New cards to pay taxi fares
MEIKLES Financial Services (MFS), a subsidiary of Meikles Limited, has partnered with People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB), to create a new financial service, MyCash Card, aimed at providing in-store, mobile and low cost banking services for the informal sector which will also include a cashless payment of taxi fares.
MFS general manager Mr Joe Rous said his organisation was engaging in various campaigns that were aimed at penetrating the informal sector.
“We aim to penetrate the informal sector in a number of ways. We are working with major agricultural employers in remote rural areas to enable them to pay salaries to their employees. These people will transfer money to their families who will need to have MyCash Cards. We are also offering our card to tobacco growers at auction floors. They will use their cards to pay for goods and services, but also to pay their families and partners. We are approaching small traders and vendors to adopt the card so that they can receive payment. If all salaried employees have plastic, then the vendors and traders will have to accept electronic payments and so they will adopt the MyCash card,” he said.
Mr Rous said the card would allow holders to do cashless transactions inside TM Pick n Pay supermarkets and MMM stores in the country. He said the service will operate as a bank account and will allow all mobile money transactions, including transfers, utility payments, and savings, in addition to other regular banking services.
Mr Rous said MFS was fast aiming to revolutionarise electronic payment usage across the country.
“We will encourage even taxi drivers to accept payment via MyCash. The passenger dials *212#, enters the taxi driver’s cellphone number and transfers the taxi fare, for free. It arrives in the taxi driver’s account instantly. We are also running campaigns to encourage small-scale employers to pay their staff, including domestic and casual workers, onto the MyCash card.
“TM, Pick n Pay and MMM stores are situated all over the country. We believe that through a network of nearly 60 branches, we will penetrate both the formal and informal sectors. There is no minimum balance. However, if there is no use of the card for an extended period and if there is zero balance, we reserve the right to cancel the card,” he said.
In a statement released last week MFS said MyCash kiosks will provide shoppers with “unparalleled convenience, offering services that include agency banking for CABS, CBZ and POSB.”
It added that it will allow cash withdrawals for ZimSwitch connected bank account holders. The service, said the company will also allow holders to make bill payments for services such as Zesa, council rates, cable TV and TelOne.
“Working with and guided by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, the MyCash card, coupled with the range of services available at MyCash kiosks, will bring an unseen level inter-operability and large scale financial inclusion to all Zimbabweans,” said MFS.