Steward Bank creates customer convenience, opens remittances centre

Steward Bank, Zimbabwe’s largest bank by depositors, has opened a dedicated remittance centre in
Harare which caters for both international and local remittances.

The state-of-the-art remittance centre, where customers can access funds sent to them by their
friends and family in Zimbabwe or abroad, is situated at the Eastgate Complex in Harare.

The centre, where customers can collect money sent via SasaiRemit, EcoCashRemit, StewardRemit,
WorldRemit and many others, has quickly become popular with the public receiving money
remitted to them either via their mobile wallets or directly into their bank accounts.

EcoCashRemit
Market analysts believe the new outlet is part of Steward Bank’s strategy to provide an integrated
retail and digital customer experience designed to make it convenient for customers to collect their
foreign currency in a clean, safe and secure environment.

Customers at the Remittance Centre expressed satisfaction with the service they are receiving.
“I am very happy with the service here. It usually takes me a few minutes to collect my money and
it’s hassle free,” said Tariro Mugova, from Chitungwiza.

Another customer, Chrispen Chitagu, said he prefers to collect foreign currency from Steward
Bank’s Remittance Centre due to the consistent availability of cash at the centre.

“Besides this branch being conveniently located, there is no day that I have failed to collect money
from here. Cash is always available and the tellers inside are polite, and always serve you with a
smile,” he said.

In the past few years, Steward Bank has partnered with several global money transfer agents,
including HelloPaisa, MoneyGram and Mama Money – among many others – to facilitate the free
flow of remittances into the country.

The World Bank estimates that remittance flows into Zimbabwe reached US$2 billion last year
against US$1,4 billion in 2021 and US$1 billion in 2020.

Millions of Zimbabweans in the diaspora are driving this exponential growth as they increasingly
embrace the convenience and many benefits of the digital platform offered by Steward Bank.
Steward Bank Chief Executive Officer Courage Mashavave said the financial institution recently
introduced intra-bound remittances and scaled up Steward Remit to enable access to foreign
currency.

“We are collaborating with agencies across the country, in areas such as Mutoko and Murehwa.
Compared to this time last year, we have tripled our Customer Satisfaction Index, demonstrating
that we are increasing our customers’ expected service and product quality,” Mr Mashavave said in
his recent festive season message to customers.

Steward Bank Chief Executive Officer Courage Mashavave
Meanwhile, StewardRemit, which allows real-time US dollar money transfers across the country
for both Steward Bank account holders and non-account holders, has reduced its transaction
charges.

“Dear Customer, you can now send USD anywhere in Zimbabwe for less. We have reduced the
StewardRemit send-money charge from 5 percent to 3 percent of the transaction amount, inclusive
of 2 percent IMT tax,” Steward Bank said in a notice to customers.-chronicle