Sex workers in Zimbabwe’s capital city of Harare are reportedly switching to mobile money as preferred medium of payment following the country’s high penetration rate, ubiquitous nature of mobile phones and wide acceptance of mobile money.
The sex workers that spoke to NewZimbabwe.com said they are choosing mobile money to prevent being duped by clients.
Econet Wireless’s EcoCash is currently the major mobile money service in the country although competitors have also launched similar products namely TeleCash and OneWallet. And with the availability of several mobile money-backed payment options, sex workers are demanding that their clients should pay through their mobile phones before service delivery.
“Some clients would pay you before you offer them sexual services and then after we finish they violently demand their money back,” said one Shamie who operates at a popular night spot at Greencroft Shopping Centre.
“So I now request that my clients to pay via EcoCash or Telecash before I offer them services.”
She added: “It is only when they (clients) don’t have money in their mobile accounts that I request that they leave cash with my friends because a lot of them will use you for nothing.”
