Econet Wireless  is set to launch a platform that will permit for remittances between South Africa and Zimbabwe to flow rapidly, the mobile phone operator said on Wednesday.

Econet said it is currently putting last touches to this platform which could be launched next month. It took nine months to put together this platform.

Remittance is the money sent to a friend or family member who is in another country through a wire-transfer service, mail or electronic network.

This new platform will permit Zimbabweans that stay in South Africa and utilize Econet Wireless (SA) CALL HOME SIM cards to load funds in their cell phones and send money over the boundary immediately to an Econet number.

“The recipients in Zimbabwe will then be able to cash the money at any Ecocash agent,” Darlington Mandivenga, the CEO of Econet Services, said in a statement.

The number of remittances into Zimbabwe could simply soar because of this platform.

Mandivenga claims that Econet remittances will be the largest generator of foreign hard currency in the Zimbabwean economy by the close of this year.

“Our research suggests that by making it quicker and easier to send small amounts, of as little as R5, and at any time, we will see a massive inflow of money, just like we see on EcoCash here at home,” Mandivenga said.

Econet is paying more attention to remittances from South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. It will continue to the United Kingdom and the US later.