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Kiyapili Sibanda, Business Reporter
THE Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has advised depositors to consult their banks when charged more after using Point of Sale (POS) machines.

With more Zimbabweans embracing the use of plastic money, there have been reports that some banks were charging more than the stipulated 10 cents per transaction.

RBZ deputy director financial markets, Mr Josephat Mutepfa, said clients have the right to complain and engage concerned banks when they feel short changed.

“These kinds of issues can be rectified by individual banks when one can write a letter, for example, to CBZ stating that the account was deducted more after making payment using POS,” said Mr Mutepfa.

“The bank and the place where one has made the payment can negotiate the way forward behind the scenes and usually it takes between 24 to 72 hours for the issue to be rectified between these two parties.

“Sometimes the system will be down and one has to try again.”

He said depositors should not hesitate to consult the RBZ if their concerns were not addressed by banks.

“We have a toll free line at RBZ where customers can call and direct their concerns to us and we are more than willing to have their grievances looked into so that they can be satisfied,” said Mr Mutepfa.

“Banks have got bank to customer relations so it’s important for customers to maintain that relationship. If the customer is not satisfied he or she can engage the RBZ and map the way forward.”

He said the apex bank was impressed with the uptake of plastic money as more people now appreciate the convenience of using the platform.

The RBZ has been on an aggressive drive to promote use of plastic money to ease pressure on demand for hard cash.

The move followed cash shortages that dominated the whole of 2016 amid concerns over money laundering and externalisation of the United States dollar.

— Kiyaz_Cool