Zim Metro

BAZ Urges Public To Use ‘Plastic Money’ As Cash Crisis Bites

THE Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) plans to import more point-of-sale (POS) machines to widen the use of plastic money, as the economy grapples with a cash crisis.

“We are pursuing the importation of POS machines to widen the use of plastic money and other electronic platforms to lessen reliance on cash for day-to-day transactions,” BAZ president, Charity Jinya told a local publication, adding that the POS machines were to reduce the reliance on hard cash.

“BAZ has come out strongly in support of the measures that have been put in place by the central bank,” she said.

An increase in plastic money use has been part of suggestions by bankers, who are currently feeling the pinch of what analyst are calling “panic withdrawals”.

Since the calls for the public to move from hard cash to plastic money, retail stores have seen an estimated 50% spike in plastic money usage.

Early this year, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor, John Mangudya said there was need for a cashless society to reduce the use of hard cash, adding that RBZ was aiming for an 80% cashless society by 2020.

But critics say high charges by banks dissuade people from using plastic money instead of cash, adding that the system was also unreliable. Critics say the economy has become informal, but banks have not been responsive, meaning plastic money was not feasible in the informal sector.

Increased use of in plastic money has also been seen as a way to prevent people from double dipping, as banks would be able to have a record of who would have withdrawn on that day.

In other parts of the world, plastic money is widely used instead of hard cash. As such, withdrawals of amounts such as $1 000, that have been seen in Zimbabwe, would warrant an investigation from the person’s bank and regulatory authorities.

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