Business Reporter
On 12 May 2026, Cabinet approved zero-cost bank accounts for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), according to a Ministry of Finance statement issued by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube.
The measure forms part of a broader financial services reform package aimed at extending formal banking access to Zimbabwe’s largely unbanked business population.
While the announcement has been welcomed as a step toward financial inclusion, key questions remain unanswered, including the eligibility criteria for MSMEs, the scope of “zero cost,” and whether banks are legally required to comply.
The scale of the challenge is significant. ZimStat’s 2023 Economic Census, conducted between June 2024 and March 2025, found that 76.1 percent of all business establishments in Zimbabwe operate informally. The Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce estimates the informal sector contributes approximately US$42 billion, or 64.1 percent of GDP. MSMEs remain central to the country’s development agenda, accounting for roughly 60 percent of GDP—a figure frequently cited by the government in justifying the reform.
Most of these businesses do not hold formal bank accounts, primarily due to prohibitive monthly account maintenance fees, which often erode small balances into negative territory.
For market traders, tuckshop owners, and small-scale manufacturers with irregular cash flows, the cost of opening and maintaining a bank account has historically exceeded the convenience of keeping cash at home. The zero-cost MSME account is designed to address this barrier.
The 12 May approval builds on previous reforms. In April 2024, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor John Mushayavanhu directed banks to exempt accounts maintaining daily balances of US$100 or less from maintenance charges, targeting low-balance individual depositors rather than MSMEs. In February 2026, the RBZ removed balance enquiry fees and capped transaction charges across all banks and deposit-taking microfinance institutions, limiting cash withdrawals to 2 percent and point-of-sale transactions to 1.5 percent.
The Cabinet approval introduces a dedicated zero-cost account for MSMEs, representing a more targeted approach compared with previous fee caps that applied system-wide.
