The Zimbabwean government has announced that all mobile money transactions valued at under US$5 will be exempt from the Intermediated Money Transfer Tax (IMTT), in a move that offers direct relief to millions of citizens who depend on platforms such as EcoCash, OneMoney, and Telecash for their daily financial needs.

The IMTT, commonly referred to as the "2% tax," has been levied on all electronic money transfers in Zimbabwe since 2018. While it was introduced to broaden the government's tax base, the policy has drawn persistent criticism for disproportionately affecting low-income earners and small traders who frequently make high-volume, low-value transactions. Under the new exemption, these micro-payments will no longer attract any deduction at the point of transfer.

For the average Zimbabwean, the impact is immediate and practical. Sending school fees to a child, paying a vendor at the market, or topping up a transport fare all transactions that previously attracted a tax will now go through untouched. Small and medium enterprises operating in the informal sector, where margins are already thin, stand to benefit from the removal of cumulative charges on high-frequency payments.

The exemption is also expected to encourage wider adoption of mobile money among unbanked Zimbabweans, many of whom have been reluctant to use digital platforms due to perceived transaction costs. By making the smallest transfers tax-free, the government is effectively lowering the barrier to entry for first-time users.

The announcement forms part of a broader set of digital finance reforms introduced in the 2026 National Budget, which also included a reduction in the IMTT rate on Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) transactions from 2% to 1.5%. Together, these measures signal a deliberate pivot by Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube toward a more growth-oriented approach to taxing digital transactions.

Some analysts have raised questions about the revenue shortfall that may result, given that the IMTT is one of Zimbabwe's top-performing levies. The government, however, appears confident that higher transaction volumes driven by reduced taxation will offset the loss a strategy that has proven effective in mobile money markets across East Africa.