Zimbabwe's ZiG currency faces online payment hurdles despite legal tender status
via NewsDay Zimbabwe9 min read
Despite being declared Zimbabwe's official gold-backed legal tender by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and the government, the ZiG currency encounters significant challenges in online transactions. While the state has implemented policies to promote its use, such as increasing transaction limits and mandating acceptance by government suppliers, the digital economy often treats ZiG cards as less functional than USD Visa and Mastercards. Online payment gateways, which are crucial for e-commerce, primarily optimize for USD transactions due to perceived revenue certainty and faster settlement times for merchants. Many local e-commerce operators do not configure ZiG card acceptance as a default, and merchants face opacity regarding ZiG settlement timelines, leading them to favor USD. Consumers also experience difficulties, as many ZiG-denominated cards require separate online activation, and some transactions are routed through unreliable USSD prompts. Furthermore, inconsistencies in enforcing the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe's 1.5% cap on POS charges and potential incorrect application of the 15% digital services withholding tax to local ZiG transactions add to the problem. This digital disparity is rooted in a trust deficit, as the ZiG currency experienced significant devaluation shortly after its launch, reinforcing a preference for stable foreign currencies and cash-based transactions among Zimbabweans. To address these issues, there is a call for greater transparency from the Reserv
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by NewsDay Zimbabwe.
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