ZIMBABWE Government has issued a notice terminating all mobile money with immediate effect as measures to deal with malpractice and economic sabotage related to the services.

Ecocash defied government order to suspend transactions, the country’s dominant mobile money group, said that only the central bank could order such a suspension.

The move has left subscribers and users stranded in an economy which sees more than half of the country’s population relying on mobile money transfer service due to long-term cash shortages at the banks.

Mobile money companies, especially the biggest platform EcoCash, have been on the government’s radar this year, standing accused of fanning the rapid spike in the street exchange rate of the Zimdollar versus the US Dollar.

In a statement, the government says it “is in possession of impeccable intelligence” which shows “mobile money systems of Zimbabwe are conspiring, with the help of the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange, either deliberately or inadvertently, in illicit activities that are sabotaging the economy.”

This, the government argues, has resulted in multiple exchange rates for Zimdollar cash, Zimdollar mobile money, Zimdollar bank electronic funds and for the US Dollar.