The world is evolving and it is now a global village. That scenario has seen an ever increasing need to send and receive money across national borders. Just as an example, students are no longer limited to local schools/universities in their selection of which institution to study with. A growing number of students enroll at schools/universities out of their home country. In such scenarios, parents have to find efficient ways of sending support money to their children. On the other hand, a significant number of Zimbabweans now work in the diaspora and often need to send money back home for various reasons. With this in mind, we explore just some of the options available to meet that need.

Money Transfer Agencies (MTAs)

MTAs play a key role in providing a solution for Zimbabweans looking to send or receive money from other countries across the world. These ordinarily do not require someone to hold any sort of bank account; just the cash you want to send and your national ID are the requirements when you are the one sending money to someone out of the country. When receiving, just your ID is usually enough. To boost efficiencies for this option some banks with wide branch networks across the country such as CBZ have partnered MTAs such as Western Union, World Remit, MoneyGram, Mukuru and Hello Paisa to allow easy redemption of received funds from any of their branches. CBZ have actually gone a step further to establish a dedicated Money Transfer Centre (MTC) in an endeavour to provide more convenience to those receiving funds from across the borders. MTAs are all accommodating such that even the unbanked can easily enjoy the service. The general requirements when sending money is your national ID and full details of the intended recipient (full name and address). Recipient will redeem the funds sent in cash from any outlet of the MTA in their country of residence.

International cards

These are ideal for the banked (those with bank accounts). Parents with children studying outside the country can find this more convenient as they can just fund the card locally and their child can access the funds wherever they are through the international card in their possession. The two most common for the Zimbabwean market are Visa and Mastercard depending with the local bank you are dealing with. The good thing with these is that even when local, one can still use it to make online payments to any part of the world. Some local banks have introduced customised options to speak to the special needs of particular customers/segments. An example is the Student Visa Gold card offered by CBZ to either international or local students who usually may need to make online fees payments internationally. The card allows one to deposit funds locally and their child can use the card to access the funds in their country of residence. The card is issued in your child’s name and charges incur depending on usage.

Supplementary international card

While this works the same way as the foregoing, this one is linked to an existing parent international card as opposed to opening an independent card for the child. As an example, for the CBZ supplementary Visa Gold Card, the parent’s Visa Gold Card details are required to get another card, which can be used by your child in their country of residence. You can easily monitor the transactions from your end as your account will be the one that will be in use. It is basically two cards on one account.

International Telegraphic Transfers (TTs)

This is an option available in scenarios where one is either transferring funds from their local bank account (Outgoing Telegraphic Transfer or OTT) direct to a foreign bank account or receiving funds from an international bank account direct to their local bank account (Incoming Telegraphic Transfer or ITT). To understand this better, you can think of it just as RTGS transfer in a local sense but this time to or from a foreign bank account. Key details one would need from their bank are the bank’s Swift Code and intermediary bank details. These are usually subject to Exchange Control regulations and one should seek guidance from their bankers to ensure compliance.

Disclaimer: This information is intended for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.