As we reported earlier on, late yesterday evening the RBZ issued a statement saying they had banned InnBucks a popular USD wallet from taking deposits and allowing people to send money to others. The RBZ blamed Simbisa for this fiasco as they seemed to imply that Simbisa had for some reason failed to apply for the necessary licence. That seemed doubtful and now Simbisa has issued their own statement reassuring their customers that their funds are safe and can be cashed out or used to make purchases as usual.

Below is Simbisa’s full statement on the issue:

To our Valued Customers,
The Press Statement issued by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe on 20 April, 2022 refers.
InnBucks has been and remains engaged with the regulator in respect of its ADLA license. Regrettably, an impasse has occurred in respect of which the Simbisa Board is engaging the regulator with a view of achieving a speedy and amicable resolution.
Pending further statements, we assure you that funds held in the InnBucks accounts remain secure and all product purchases and cash withdrawals will be honoured as per regulations.
Thank you for putting your trust in us.
By order of the Simbisa Brands Limited Board of Directors.
20 April 2022
Simbisa’s full statement on the issue

Zimbabwe is not open for business

During the early days of the so-called second republic the government would pleasure in telling anyone who would listen that Zimbabwe was open for business. Thanks to bureaucracy, mercurial business regulations, rash-bans and downright corruption that mantra never brought in the perceived benefits it was supposed to bring. The RBZ and other government agencies have a habit of issuing bans with little consultation and making regularising businesses extremely difficult. Zimbabwe is one of the hardest places on earth to start a fintech given our economy. If you sprinkle this devil-may-care attitude where entities are banned with little recourse it’s no wonder despite all so-called mega-deals we are yet to see any material investment into Zimbabwe. The RBZ has with one-stroke of their mighty pen felled a thriving innovative entity. One with big muscle for no-apparent reason except that they can.