After years of long protracted lobbying with government of Zimbabwe and prohibitive anti laundering laws which have stagnated Zimbabwe`s financial sector, it came as shocking news that for the first time ever, Zimbabweans can now send money to other countries through Western Union, via POSB.
Previously Zip Cash, through Zimpost was the only state controlled entity which recently launched and can send money to some selected countries .
By Toneo Tonderai Rutsito
The POSB and Western Union deal comes as a landmark move, finally Zimbabweans will now send to their loved ones, colleagues and business connects instantly via the world wide renowned system.
However we could not establish if all Western Union branches are activated for the service or one can only do these transactions while physically in POSB bank, then transferred to the Western Union system.
The western Union boasts of 170 million customers in over 200 countries world-wide where they exchange over 130 currencies instantly. This in its own right makes the Western Union the world`s biggest money transfer agent.
The reserve bank of Zimbabwe tightened laws during the hyper inflationary period of 2008-2010 which saw massive looting and externalisation of funds.
Western Union does not require anyone to have a bank account to receive or send money and we are yet to fully understand how POSB is likely to benefit from the deal as they may use the opportunity to gain more clients.
Currently POSB has mostly government retired employees receiving their pensions through the state bank and civil servants salaries.
- Technomag Zimbabwe