Tariffs to reflect movements in RTGS Dollars vs USD interbank exchange rate
Econet has just adjusted it’s roaming and international calling tariffs in line with the Monetary Policy Statement that was announced by RBZ Governor John Mangudya on 20 February 2019. The statement created a new currency, the RTGS Dollar, which is comprised of Bond notes, bond coins and RTGS balances. The following are the new Econet international calling and roaming tariffs. These tariffs reflect the interbank rate that’s on the market at the moment.
New Econet International Call Tariffs (Incl VAT & Excise)
| GROUP | PER MINUTE (INCL VAT & EXCISE) | |
| Group 1 | Fixed | Mobile |
| NAMIBIA | 0.70 | 1.13 |
| MOZAMBIQUE | 0.70 | 1.13 |
| BOTSWANA | 0.70 | 1.13 |
| Group2 | Fixed | Mobile |
| SWAZILAND | 0.63 | 1.10 |
| LESOTHO | 0.63 | 1.10 |
| SOUTH AFRICA | 0.63 | 1.10 |
| Group 3 | Fixed | Mobile |
| CANADA | 1.20 | 1.20 |
| USA | 1.20 | 1.20 |
| UK | 1.20 | 1.20 |
| CHINA | 1.20 | 1.20 |
| Group 4 | Fixed | Mobile |
| Rest of World | 1.55 | 1.55 |
| Group 5 | Fixed | Mobile |
| Hard to Reach | 2.78 | 2.78 |
| Group 6 | Fixed | Mobile |
| Harder to reach | 18.33 | 18.33 |
New Econet SMS Tariffs
| SMS | PEAK | OFF PEAK |
| Local SMS | 0.0530 | 0.0530 |
| International SMS (Incl VAT) | 0.30 | 0.30 |
Roaming Tariffs
| Country | Receiving calls/Min | Local Call/Min | Calling Zim/Min | Data/MB |
| Botswana | $1.13 | $0.98 | $3.48 | $3.75 |
| China | $1.20 | $1.65 | $5.95 | $3.75 |
| South Africa | $1.10 | $1.68 | $2.73 | $3.75 |
| UK | $1.20 | $3.38 | $5.62 | $3.75 |
| USA | $1.20 | $5.03 | $10.78 | $3.75 |
Roaming is expensive
One of the things that you will notice is that roaming is expensive. Just take the issue of data prices as an example. Where, in Zimbabwe, one RTGS dollar can buy you 250MB of data from Econet (Econet data bundles), you need $3.75 to buy 1MB of data while roaming. This is clearly not sustainable.
What’s the solution
What most people do when they go abroad is buy local SIM cards. Lets say that you do this in South Africa. You can then make your calls to Zimbabwe at a much more reasonable rate. You can also connect to WhatsApp using your Zimbabwean number.
Will the Econet international and roaming tariffs change?
The new econet international and roaming tariffs are premised on an exchange rate of 2.5 RTGSDs to 1 USD. This exchange rate, which is prevailing on the market at the moment, is bound to change. The black market rate has remained between 3.5 -4 RTGSDs to the USD, making it possible that the interbank exchange rate will drift upwards. Should this happen, Econet will likely change it’s international calling and roaming tariffs to reflect these changes.
