The long-awaited option to directly purchase airtime bundles using US dollars is here. Econet has just unveiled what stands to become an industry game-changer – Smart USD Bundles. It recently announced that you can now recharge using physical cards and electronic voucher slips. Though of course, it is not a development that favours everyone it at least is something. Let us go through these Smart USD Bundles.
Smart USD Bundles
When you dial, you dial *143# to convert USD airtime to Smart USD bundles. The USD airtime is currently available via Physical Recharge Cards from airtime vendors near you or Electronic Recharge Vouchers in selected Econet Shops, OK, and TM Pick n Pay supermarkets.
Here are the steps you follow to convert your USD airtime to bundles:
- Dial *143#
- Select Option 1 for USD Bundles
- Select a USD Bundle of your choice
- Voice, Data, SMS, or Combo
- Select either ‘Using Airtime’
- You can either purchase for yourself or others
- Confirm payment
- Enjoy your bundle
- Breakdown Of Econet Smart USD Bundles
Voice Bundles
| Price (US$) | Total Minutes | Peak Minutes | Off-Peak Minutes | Validity (Days) |
| 0.50 | 30 | 15 | 15 | 1 |
| 1 | 60 | 30 | 30 | 2 |
| 5 | 320 | 160 | 160 | 7 |
SMS Bundles
| Price (US$) | Total SMSes | Peak SMSes | Off-Peak SMSes | Validity (Days) |
| 0.50 | 225 | 150 | 75 | 14 |
| 1 | 550 | 300 | 250 | 30 |
Data Bundles
| Price (US$) | Total Data | Peak Data | Off-Peak Data | Validity (Days) |
| 1 Weekly | 300MB | 200MB | 100MB | 7 |
| 3 Monthly | 900MB | 600MB | 300MB | 30 |
| 5 Private Wi-Fi | 1.65GB | 1.1GB | 550MB | 30 |
| 10 Private Wi-Fi | 10gb | 8gb | 2gb | 30 |
Just to clarify because I know some might wonder what ‘peak’ and ‘off-peak’ are all about. Peak bundles are valid for use any time of the day and off-peak bundles are only valid between 2300hrs and 0400hrs. Scenario: Let us suppose you have bought 10 gigabytes of private Wi-Fi data. Peak data is 8 gigabytes and off-peak data is 2 gigabytes. If you exhaust your off-peak data, it means the remaining peak data will not be usable during off-peak times. The converse is also true, if you exhaust your peak data, it means the remaining off-peak data will not be usable during peak times.
Is This A Good Deal?
It is a good deal but not for everyone though. It has always been cheaper to purchase airtime using US dollars. That is why for ages people have always wished for something like this. However, it is only a great deal for those who primarily get their incomes in US dollars. For those who get their incomes primarily in ZWL$ not so much. They would have to buy US dollars on the parallel market and that will be expensive. It would not be different from just purchasing the existing expensive ZWL$ packages. So it is a relief for the former (i.e. the USD earners) because they will find bundles becoming much cheaper for them. It also is a great deal for Econet because they get to enjoy inflows of the much needed US dollars.
Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) in Zimbabwe have always complained about operational challenges. One of the reasons cited has been foreign currency shortages. No wonder why their ZWL$ bundle prices have been mostly steep. This Smart USD Bundles move makes things much better for them. Anyways you will notice that there are only 2 private Wi-Fi options, of which both are new. Not sure about the rationale behind that i.e. why did they not include all the usual options?
I have seen some complaints about the non-availability of the Physical Recharge Cards and Electronic Recharge Vouchers. It is disturbing that they said ‘selected Econet Shops, OK, and TM Pick n Pay supermarkets. That could mean availability might be a problem in due course. Maybe it is too early to judge; let us wait and see how the next couple of days unfold. It seems obvious that NetOne will most likely follow suit soon. We will get to see what their packages will be like if they follow the same route. All of this is interesting given that government is about to introduce the ZWL$100 note. It is as clear as day that the ZWL$ is fast losing its value and relevance. Always interesting in the stuff that unfolds in Zimbabwe; let me know what you think in the comments below.
