Zimbabwe mobile telco NetOne has experienced a surge in subscriptions to its mobile money service OneMoney, up by 291.6% to 51 440 in Q3, 2017.

This is according to the country's industry regulator, the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (Potraz).

Brian Mutandiro, NetOne's acting CEO expects more growth in Q2 this year. "As an organisation, we're humbled by the uptake of the package by the people of Zimbabwe. We're also optimistic that the package will change the face NetOne."

He added that OneMoney has the advantage of a debit card that is Zimswitch-enabled, that allows registered customers to Zip money from other financial services onto the mobile account (mobile number).

"OneMoney allows customers to transact and check their balances from their mobile handset at zero monthly charges," he said.

The company is now running a promotion whereby a customer who purchases prepaid airtime of US$1 will automatically earn a discount of 8%, and US$5 power utility token earns the customer a discount of 1,5%.

Postpaid or contract subscribers registered on OneMoney will be allowed to purchase airtime for other subscribers on prepaid status whilst enjoying the 8% discount, Mutandiro added.

Discounts will not be given for airtime bundle purchases and are not transferrable to another customer.

Matandiro said since its inception last year, NetOne's mobile money platform edged up rapidly in terms of subscriptions.