We have just confirmed that NetOne users are now able to register for and use EcoCash’s mobile money service. After learning of this, Pindula approached an EcoCash agent to register. We initially, met with stiff resistance as the agent claimed that it was impossible, but after 5 minutes of negotiating he finally relented and agreed to try the process. To his shock, it actually worked and he rushed to spread the news. We contacted EcoCash, and they confirmed the development.
However, at the moment NetOne users cannot use shortcodes as there is no facility for USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data). Instead, NetOne users have to download the official EcoCash application for transacting. This means that subscribers with feature phones which do not run Android or iOS will not be able to transact, at least for now.
We are yet to get information on charges.
A few weeks back Minister of Information Communication Technology and Cyber Security Supa Mandiwanzira issued a directive to all mobile money companies to integrate their systems to allow seamless movement of funds between NetOne, TeleCash and EcoCash.