Intervention by Zimbabwe’s reserve bank has helped boost the number of agents and merchants for mobile money service Telecash, claims cellphone operator Telecel.

3,000 agents and merchants are now registered with Telecash, up from 1,600 at the end of January this year.

Telecash is Telecel’s mobile money service, which was launched earlier this year to rival Econet’s EcoCash offering.

Telecel, in turn, is Zimbabwe’s second largest mobile operator with over 2.5 million subscribers.

“Immediately after telecash was launched its visibility was low, due largely to anxieties on the part of some agents over reports that another mobile phone network was refusing to allow its agents to become agents for other networks. Some were reluctant, as a result, to be seen acting for telecash as well as another mobile money service provider,” says Telecel in a statement.

“However, once that issue was resolved, following the intervention of the reserve bank, which made it clear that it was not permissible for any network to restrict agents from becoming agents of other networks unless an exceptional case could be made for doing so, the number and visibility of telecash agents and merchants grew rapidly,” explains Telecel in its statement.

Telecel goes on to explain that agents can register telecash subscribers, accept telecash deposits, permit telecash account withdrawals and even sell goods and services.

A Telecash merchant, on the other hand, does not register telecash subscribers and may not take deposits or allow withdrawals. Merchants; though, are allowed to sell goods and services using Telecash.