Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe has entered the increasingly competitive mobile-money market with StanPay, a wallet aimed at expanding its reach into everyday transactions and the informal economy.
Launched on Wednesday, StanPay allows anyone in Zimbabwe with a national identity number to open a wallet and use it for payments, cash-in and cash-out services, and fund transfers.
The platform gives Stanbic a new channel to compete for routine financial transactions traditionally handled by established mobile-money services, while linking digital payments directly to the bank’s existing infrastructure.
Stanbic Bank Head of Digital and E-Commerce Banking Ngoni Phillip Sandengu said the wallet had been designed around the everyday transactional needs of Zimbabweans.
“StanPay is by no means the first in the market. However, we believe that we have built StanPay to become the best-in-market solution,” Sandengu said.
A key differentiator is the platform’s connection to 55 Stanbic Bank ATMs across the country, allowing customers to withdraw cash without a debit card.
Users can generate a cash voucher on their mobile phones and use it to access their money at the bank’s ATMs, providing a bridge between digital transactions and Zimbabwe’s continued demand for physical cash.
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Sandengu said the service would allow customers to access cash around the clock while continuing to transact digitally through the *247# platform and Blue247 App.
“Just by dialling *247# or downloading the Blue247 App from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store, anyone in Zimbabwe with a Zimbabwean national ID number can open a StanPay wallet account within minutes, free of charge,” he said.
The bank is also positioning StanPay beyond formal banking customers, with the platform designed to serve both formal and informal markets.
“StanPay was built with both the formal and informal Zimbabwean markets in mind and is designed to support the transactional needs of every Zimbabwean,” Sandengu said.
The wallet currently supports more than 20 billers and service providers, including ZESA, TelOne, ZOL, Econet and NetOne, allowing users to make payments through the platform.
Sandengu said the platform had been deliberately simplified to make it accessible to users with different levels of digital and financial experience.
While mobile money has been established in Zimbabwe for more than a decade, Stanbic is entering the market with the advantage of an established banking network and ATM infrastructure.
The bank said StanPay was built with security and reliability at its core while retaining the convenience of mobile transactions.
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