Mobile banking usage is on the increase in Zimbabwe say analysts at research and brokerage firm IH Securities on Wednesday, highlighting that the value of transactions has peaked at US$792.5 million.

A report Zimbabwe Banking Sector, Swiping Through released Wednesday stated that "the use of mobile banking has been increasing over the months and went from $388.9mn in January 2016 to reach an all-time high of $792.5 million" by the end of April 2017.

"Because of the convenience of mobile banking, we expect this figure to continue to increase as banks continue to partner with telco providers to increase convenience to customers" reads an excerpt from the report.

Analysts added that internet banking transactions have also been on the increase, with more Zimbabweans resorting to card-based transactions owing to cash shortages in the economy.

"Internet banking has also evolved in the last couple of years as it has also become a convenient way of banking. Card based transactions increased in the month of April to $506 million from $451 million in March 2017," added the report.

This comes as cash-based transactions have significantly declined from US$703.3 million in April 2016 to US$459.6 million by the end of April this year.

Zimbabwe's three telecom companies, Econet, Telecel and NetOne all offer mobile money platforms. They have also started to integrate with banks and other partners to smoothen transactions.

According to the Posts and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz), "a total of 3.2 million mobile money subscribers were active in the first quarter of 2017".

In its 2017 first quarter report on telecoms, Potraz said that cash-out transactions declined by 8% to US$256 million, while cash-in transactions declined by 9% to US$258.6 million.

However, the overall value of mobile-based banking and purchasing transactions is estimated to have been higher.