A business of selling cash to consumers has been on the increase in Harare. Consumers buy cash using their electronic money balances in the form of the EcoCash a mobile money service.
People buy cash using their electronic balance for premiums of between 30% and 40%. So for example
For example, when the rate is 30% to buy $10 cash, one has to transfer a total of $13 via EcoCash to the seller. The demand for cash is high because some retailers and public transport providers refuse to accept electronic payments like EcoCash. They, in turn, use the cash they receive from their customers to supply the cash sellers at a lower rate (say, 20%) which is then sold back to the consumers at the 30%.
The EcoCash prohibits its Agents from selling cash. Ordinary people who are not official Agents are also involved in selling cash as they can just use their individual Ecocash wallets to trade.
More: The Herald