#Picture: Ecocash Updates Prefixes In Transaction SMS: Changes Them From USD To RTGS $

The RBZ governor willed it and now it has been done: Zimbabwe has a new currency called the RTGS $ which is now our primary currency instead of the USD we have used for the past 10 years. Ecocash wallets which used to be in USD are now explicitly in RTGS $.

The new message structure versus the old structure

To make sure that there is no doubt about this all Ecocash related transaction messages now explicitly state the fact that you are transacting in RTGS $ when you use your normal wallet. It is not clear when this started but I noticed it today when I made a payment.

Accepting reality

The RBZ’s delusions before this were creating a lot of confusion in the business world especially after they ordered banks to separate between FCA-RTGS and FCA Nostro. People still referred to what was in our banks and Ecocash wallets as Nostro. So did the old Ecocash transaction messages that prefixed whatever amount was involved in the transaction as USD.

As of the time of writing some strings in the Ecocash USSD prompts still refer to USD but that is likely to change soon. These updates might also be the reason why the Ecocash App is currently down but that’s just speculation on my part.