On Monday the 4th of October ZSE Direct made their app, which had been in beta testing for a week, public. The app brings additional convenience to ZSE Direct users who had up to now only had the web portal as their only access method. The Android app launch which coincided with the addition of a counter performance feature to the website is a clean adaption of the responsive website to a native app.
Android app
We took a look around the app to gather some key highlights from the first iteration. Users who are already registered simply need their registered email address and password to log in to the app. The app also allows those who are not registered to register through it. The app includes access to the main ZSE website and the ZSE training institute, their portal for investor education on the market.
Easy access buttons on the bottom to view your portfolio, see market prices, Trade and view your wallet. Under the prices view, tapping on an individual counter expands the view to give the same information you would find under the counter performance view. More on this a little later.
Trade gives you the option of buying or selling counters. Under trade you select either the buy or sell option which leads you to an additional screen with tabs for the equity regular board (for buying and selling in lots of 100 and multiples thereof), equity odd board (for buying in quantities between 1 and 99 shares provided the transaction is over ZWL$500) and the Old Mutual ZSE Top Ten ETF. At the top right corner of the buy or sell screen you will find a clock icon that links to your Order history displaying working (active) orders, Matched orders and cancelled orders.
The prices view also has additional tabs showing the top 5 gainers and top 5 losers of the day. The portfolio view lists your invested counters showing the day performance per counter. The wallet is where you manage your money. You can deposit, withdraw and view your account statement.
Counter performance
The counter performance function added on the dashboard of the web portal and accessible by tapping the individual counters in the prices section provides performance data for the selected counter. This includes a graph that shows price movement and volumes for the counter, price data including the year high and low and daily trading activity. All useful data that the average user can and should take advantage of having. The graph ranges can be altered to give a chosen period view.
Credit must go to Justin Bgoni and the team at the ZSE for continually addressing pain points that customers have. With the launching of the Android app, the obvious question of when an iOS app will become available was bound to come up. On Twitter, Mr Bgoni assured those who asked that an iOS app is on the way. He also volunteered that a Victoria Falls Exchange (VFEX) direct app was on the way.
We will be launching the iOS one shortly and will increase more platforms shortly after. At the same time now bringing same on VFEX Direct. Thank you investing public for your support https://t.co/rcp9z1a33F
— Justin Bgoni (@BgoniJustin) October 4, 2021