INTERBANK rates continue to tumble as government tightens screws on illegal foreign currency dealers, blamed for the spiral in interbank rates.
Illegal money changers, who have been using the EcoCash platform to conduct transactions, have clearly been dealt a blow.
After banks successfully froze a few accounts of suspected forex dealers after a directive from the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe two weeks ago, EcoCash has also started blocking and freezing a number of EcoCash agent lines, leading to an unprecedented tumble in the exchange rate.
Monday morning, the rate was trading at 1:15 against the 1:18 during the weekend.
The move to freeze EcoCash agent lines is reportedly a government and Zanu PF youths initiative, with the two blaming the mobile money transfer facility of fueling exchange rates in the black market.
Recently, the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission warned of some rogue users and announced that they had opened an investigation on the platform users.
Due to the cash crisis situation, the blocking of the EcoCash agent lines is likely to cause chaos, as the platform has become a de-facto currency, with a value less than the bond note.
Many forex dealers have opted to use EcoCash agent lines as they are a not subjected to the 2% tax as they receive a commission for every transaction they make, thus a double payment.
The agent lines also do not have a transacting limit as other ordinary lines.