Telecel Zimbabwe has upped its mobile money subscribers to one million, the company announced this week, as the Southern African country continues to make advances in this sector.

However, this is still below registered user numbers subscribed to Econet Wireless Zimbabwe's EcoCash which is said to have reached the 3 million-plus mark.

Mobile money and remittance industry experts say Zimbabwe is among the top countries in Sub-Saharan Africa with advanced mobile money platforms.

Mobile money is used for money transfers, cross border remittances, bill payments and purchases among other uses. However, integration is still problematic, with experts blaming this on protectionism.

"The Telecash community is growing rapidly and we are proud to announce that we have now reached 1 million users. The growth we have experienced, in recent months, is also a result of our continued effort to add new services to the Telecash menu for the added convenience of our customers," said Telecel Zimbabwe's head of mobile financial services, Arthur Matsaudza.

Telecel Zimbabwe said this week that it had been granted authority by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) to facilitate cross-border remittances from expat Zimbabweans directly into the mobile money wallets of recipients back home.

Regulatory authorities have long been accused of failure to approve cross-border remittances through mobile money platforms because of concerns over money laundering.

"For a country like Zimbabwe whose economy reliant on remittances in a big way, it has to open up for mobile money to play a role in remittances. Mobile money is becoming a way of life and the reserve bank is becoming aware of this through licensing operators to receive money but we should also now move to allow remittances through mobile money to other countries to cater for students and other groups that are abroad," said a senior executive with a mobile company operating in Zimbabwe.