Econet Wireless has announced the multi-million dollar expansion of its mobile money service, EcoCash
The move, which will make EcoCash four times bigger, comes in response to the service's rapid growth since its launch two years ago.
The expansion will also enable the company to launch additional services.
According to New Zimbabwe, company executives have admitted to being surprised by the service's dramatic growth.
Engineers have been upgrading all of the company's EcoCash systems for several weeks now, with their work expected to conclude by the end of September.
Darlington Mandivenga, Econet Services CEO, said customers are using the EcoCash system to send money to relatives in rural areas, as expected.
However, they are also using the system to make many other sorts of payments, such as paying salaries.
Zimbabweans based in South Africa have also started sending money via EcoCash, according to Mandivenga.
The service is available from a few limited sites in South Africa until the full upgrade in Zimbabwe is complete.
"If we open up the service completely, we will have complete congestion," said Mandivenga. "We have to wait two or three weeks."
