RBZ Q2, 2022 Report: Active Bank Accounts Decrease, Ecocash Subscribers Go Down
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s (RBZ) Quarterly Microfinance Report for Q2, 2022 revealed a decline in active bank accounts in Zimbabwe.
The report notes that as of March 2021, the total number of Bank Accounts was 9.06 million while the number of low-cost accounts was 5.82 million.
In June of the same year, the total number of bank accounts fell to 7.17 million while the number of low-cost accounts dropped to 4.41 million.
In September 2021, the total of bank accounts further dropped to 6.69 million whereas the number of low-cost accounts went up to 4.45 million.
As of December 2021, the total number of bank accounts went up to 8.17 million while the number of low-cost accounts went up to 4.78 million.
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In March this year, the total number of bank accounts dropped to 7.76 million while the number of low-cost accounts went up to 4.83 million.
In June 2023, the number of bank accounts went down to 6.96 million while the number of low-cost accounts went down to 4.22 million. See the table below:
The total number of active registered bank accounts fell by 2.11 million since March 2021 while low-cost accounts also saw a gradual fall over the quarters.
According to the RBZ, the decline was attributed to the “withdrawal and/or closure of branches in some service centres across the country by some banking institutions as part of the branch rationalisation process contain costs.“
Meanwhile, there has been over EcoCash, Zimbabwe’s largest mobile phone-based money transfer, financing and microfinancing service, lost 3.1 million subscribers since 2020.
Download: RBZ Q2,2022 Report
The trend shows that the number of financially included people is going down compared to previous years. It also suggests that:
i). Many are likely travelling long distances to make cash transactions.
ii). Many no longer have money to put into their accounts which eventually become dormant.
iii). Many cannot easily access money which means they live in poverty.
Since around 2016, the government of Zimbabwe and its regional counterparts has been pushing to ensure that everyone, including those in the remotest parts of the country, is financially included.
Speaking at one of the regional Financial Inclusion workshops hosted by ZIMPOST in Harare, then Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services, Supa Mandiwanzira said an inclusive financial sector can have a huge contribution to the overall socio-economic development of the country.
While the government is convinced that mobile finance phone-based money transfers will increase the number of financially included people, the central bank in 2019 ordered the closure of Ecocash, and NetOne agent lines accusing them of fueling money laundering. This made it difficult for users to fund their wallets.
