- The Consumer Protection Commission has stated that businesses that do not have point-of-sale machines are violating Zimbabwean laws and infringing on consumers' right to choose when conducting daily transactions.
- PoS devices enable customers to pay with cards linked to Zimbabwean dollars (ZiG) and US dollars, allowing them to select their preferred currency at checkout.
- To protect consumers from unfair business practices, the commission is launching an enforcement blitz, beginning with the fuel retail industry, where several service stations have been found wanting and issued Compliance Notices by the Commission per Section 68 of the CPA.
The Commission discovered that 80% of the 27 service stations inspected did not have PoS machines.
The enforcement blitz will also be extended to all businesses, ensuring compliance with legal provisions, and businesses found to be non-compliant will face penalties per the law.
This development is consistent with the Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 14.44, Section 51 (h), which prohibits businesses from engaging in any unfair trade practices, including but are not limited to violating consumers' right to choose.
Also, the Finance Act Number One of 2018, which amended Section 10 of the Bank Use Promotion and Suppression of Money Laundering Act (Chapter 24:24), requires businesses to acquire any device that facilitates the electronic payment of their goods or services (commonly known as point-of-sale machines) or facilitates the payment of their goods or services electronically using a mobile telephone device or computer.
The commission requests assistance from members of the public who report businesses that do not allow consumers to swipe for goods and services.
Moreover, Denford Mutashu, president of the Confederation of Zimbabwe Retailers (CZR), urged all businesses to comply with the regulatory and statutory obligations guiding their operations, like installing working point-of-sale machines for the convenience of the transacting public.
“The multi-currency policy is law and both the ZiG and USD are legal tender in equal measure. Banks should expedite issuance of point-of-sale machines across the country’s economy.”
He reiterated that it is illegal to deny a consumer the ability to swipe or pay using mobile platforms in local currency.
Meanwhile, an X user countered that businesses do not need this approach. He suggested advocating for a single currency, either USD or ZWG.
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