THE banking public in Zimbabwe is being shortchanged and subjected to a minimum ZWL7 per each swipe transaction, Zim Morning Post has learnt.
Zimbabwe is currently facing an acute shortage of cash, resulting in many resorting to mobile money services like those provided by EcoCash and the swipe-card facility.
The liquidity crunch has left many Zimbabweans frustrated and into the hands of some unscrupulous EcoCash agents.
But this festive season, bankers have also moved in to make a killing on Christmas and New Year holidays shoppers.
“A single card transaction now attracts three heavy levies.
“There is the 2% tax and ZimSwitch fees, and the third is the bank charges,” said one bank client who declined to be named in order to protect his identity.
Banks have, however, not alerted their clients before introduction of these swipe card-related levies.
In random interviews with bank account holders in queues to make cash withdrawals to purchase groceries for the holidays, Zim Morning Post heard Thursday that there was no correlation between what should have been their actual balances and those reflecting upon enquiry from their banks.
“Whenever I make an enquiry soon after making a purchase, I always fail to reconcile my balance,” Pius Zhira of Highfield, Harare, said.
This publication later contacted the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (Baz) for a comment and was referred to one Susan, who asked this reporter to submit questions in writing.
Baz had, however, not responded to questions sent to their mail by the time of publication.
Meanwhile, this is not the first time banks have unilaterally imposed such levies against their clients, having been asked years ago by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to abandon the practice.
