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Enacy Mapakame Business Reporter
Access Finance – a bureau de change and money transfer agent, has developed a seamless payment product to facilitate global payments from Zimbabwe, enhancing efficiency in the service.

The financial solutions firm, which already has a domestic remittances network spanning the whole country — has expanded its services with a product for import payments across the globe.

With this new service, Access Finance has brought convenience to Zimbabweans who have in the past struggled to meet their foreign obligations, for instance paying tuition for students studying abroad.

This will also serve for payments for online purchases done outside the country, a trend which is fast growing popular, accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Access Finance business development manager, Ms Mildret Kujinga, said the finance solutions firm sought to plug the inconvenience clients have experienced over the past few years by failing to settle international obligations.

“Most Zimbabweans have been struggling to make payments outside the country. We have had students stranded outside the country, not because parents did not have the money to honour their obligations, but simply because parents could not find convenient ways of making these payments.

“Similarly, individuals have failed to sit for crucial examinations because they had failed to make payments to treasury bodies like the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants and others.

“Our promise to our customers is that this is now a thing of the past. They can process these payments through us instantly,” Ms Kujinga said.

According to the firm, its outbound remittances business enables customers to execute school and university fees payments, professional body subscriptions, import payments, medical bills and any other offshore payment that one may need to settle.

“There have been situations where clients needed to settle medical bills, say in India, but then had to watch loved ones waste away because there was simply no way of settling these bills.

“This will not happen again, as long as we can help it. Access will ensure these payments are made seamlessly,” Ms Kujinga said.

Ms Kujinga said the firm has proven capacity to facilitate payments across the world.

“We are licensed in the United Kingdom and South Africa. We are not limited to Zimbabwe alone, we are global. We also do this locally. For instance, the parent is sitting on Zim dollars and wants to pay in US dollars or vice versa. Or they want to liquidate their nostro and still make payments. We are the go-to people because we will process all these payments without a hustle.

“Locally, we facilitate for conversion between foreign currencies and the Zimbabwean dollar. This makes us the go-to treasury and payments services provider.”

She added that the company was equipped to do any currency switch ranging from ZAR to USD, GBP to USD, EUR to USD and vice versa, in addition to having in-house treasury solutions.

“For anything to do with forex, we are the go-to people. So this means that even if you are traveling to any part of the world, you can visit us and we will switch the currencies for you without any hustle.”