RBZ’s bank charges directive is the right call
The decision by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to order financial institutions to reduce bank charges is not merely a regulatory adjustment, it is a long-overdue structural correction.
For years, Zimbabwe’s banking public has carried the burden of excessive fees that steadily eroded confidence in formal financial institutions. At a time when policymakers are striving to deepen financial inclusion, formalise economic activity, and encourage savings, the cost of simply using a bank account had become a deterrent rather than an incentive.
The directive issued by RBZ Governor John Mushayavanhu signals an important shift in regulatory posture, from passive observation to active intervention in defence of consumers and the broader economy.
His warning that the sector has come under “heavy scrutiny and criticism” reflects a reality widely felt by households and businesses alike. Zimbabwe’s banking sector has increasingly leaned on non-funded income — fees, commissions, and service charges — as a primary revenue stream. While this model may have insulated institutions from macroeconomic volatility, it has also distorted the fundamental role of banks as intermediaries of savings and productive lending. When transaction costs become punitive, consumers avoid banking channels, businesses minimise account usage, cash circulates outside the formal system, and monetary policy transmission weakens. High bank charges have inadvertently fuelled the very informality authorities are trying to eliminate.
Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube has correctly framed bank charges as part of the broader cost-of-doing-business challenge. Fees of up to US$15 per month for individuals, steep withdrawal levies, and costly transfers are not just financial irritants — they are productivity constraints. In an economy seeking competitiveness, every transactional friction matters, and excessive financial intermediation costs act as a silent tax on enterprise, savings, and investment.
The response from the Consumer Council of Zimbabwe, articulated by chief executive Rosemary Mpofu, underscores a critical truth: financial inclusion cannot exist where services are priced beyond reach. Zimbabwe has made significant strides in expanding financial infrastructure and digital payment platforms, but access without affordability creates exclusion by another name. If ordinary citizens perceive banks as extractive rather than enabling, they will continue to migrate toward informal channels, regardless of how sophisticated the formal system becomes.
There is little doubt that banks now face an uncomfortable transition. Institutions that grew reliant on fee-based income must recalibrate toward deposit mobilisation, lending-led growth, product innovation, and value-driven customer relationships. This adjustment may compress margins in the short term, but globally, sustainable banking systems are built on intermediation, not transactional rent-seeking. A financially included population ultimately expands the deposit base, improves liquidity, strengthens credit creation, and enhances systemic resilience. Those gains far outweigh temporary revenue pressures.
