he prevailing cash shortages are clogging banks' real time gross settlement transaction
(RTGS) systems as Zimbabweans are relying on this mode of payment for virtually all
transactions.
The result is that RTGS transfers are now taking very long to process when it is supposed
to be instant.
The system congestion has largely affected Steward Bank, which has seen depositors
experiencing very long bank transfer delays.
Clients at the bank have complained that their salaries and other credits are taking as
much as two weeks to reflect in their accounts.
Depositors have also noted that RTGS transfers from Steward to other banks now take too
long to reach recipient accounts domiciled with other banks even after the money has been
deducted from their accounts.
"I did an RTGS transaction two months ago from FBC Bank to Steward Bank and now I can't
access it. I did a balance enquiry and the money is there but I can't withdraw it. So I
came here and am told lots of stories," Alan Murerwa told Standardbusiness last week.
Another customer said: "When I did my transfer it took three weeks to go through. I
suspect those guys are doing something with our money."
Steward Bank's Facebook account has also been inundated with complaints about poor
services that have been ongoing for months at the bank now.
However, a teller who spoke on condition of anonymity said the delays were caused by
isolated issues, such as wrong details and other minor errors like entering bank card
numbers instead of account numbers.
Some people also made transfers when Steward Bank's systems were down, he said.
Steward Bank CEO Lance Mambondiani said the bank had taken the strategic position to
improve its information communication Technology infrastructure (ICT) to ensure stability.
"The entire banking sector has been adjusting to a surge in processing electronic
payments, of which Steward Bank is no exception," he said.
"This is public knowledge. However, at Steward Bank, the board has taken the strategic
decision to make significant investments in improving our ICT infrastructure to ensure
long term stability and this process is currently underway.
"We have also notified the market and our customers of the changes being made to
strengthen our ICT skills.
"The chairman's statement carried with our recently published results clearly spells out
the bank's plans in this area.
"Constant updates are also given to our customers through our official channels where
necessary," Mambondiani said.
Early this month, BancABC depositors had to endure a week without access to the bank's
mobile money platform.
The bank's managing director Joe Sibanda said it was because of poor network and that the
problem had since been resolved.
"It was a network problem for a couple of days but the problem has been resolved," he
said.
Financial expert Persistence Gwanyanya said the RTGS worked with what was called a credit
push system whereby banks should have enough deposits to fund the transfers.
He said banks maintained accounts with RBZ and transactions that could be honoured were
only those within the limit of the amount deposited at the central bank. Anything above
that would not be honoured.
"Banks have a propensity of lending 80% of their deposits with anticipation that
depositors won't demand their money on the go," he said.
"If the people don't return it they can't be able to return on time.
"That can be a possibility why some banks are not paying RTGS on time. It's something the
RBZ should investigate to see if a crisis is not looming."
He also said: "Payments are delayed because volumes of transactions have significantly
increased.
"The system down time rate has increased because of failure to cope with volumes.
"It's a possibility that some banks could be failing to fund RTGS but I would want to
attribute it to an increase in errors volumes."
Economist Clemence Machadu said the increase in RTGS transactions also meant that
technical hiccups were bound to happen, including connectivity problems.
"The essence of 'real-time' is fast diminishing from the RTGS concept as delays are
virtually the order of the day now.
"I think the main issue is to do with overwhelmed bank systems as cash-lite transactions
proliferate, which has the potential to actually clog their servers," he said.
"Ideally, RTGS requires all the involved parties to work simultaneously, but when the
other party's server is busted, it will result in delays," Machadu added.
"It calls for banks to invest in efficient systems with the capacity to verify and process
transactions speedily, without compromising the integrity of their operations."
Zimbabwe has been facing a cash crisis since 2015, which has been blamed on the poor
performance of the economy.
BY FIDELITY MHLANGA
