Cross-border remittance company ZymPay signed a deal with Zimbabwe grocery chain Gain Cash and Carry to bypass cash-based mobile wallet services and allow goods to be paid for directly with the retailer.

Once paid for, goods can then be collected using a mobile payment voucher.

Announcing the deal, the payment company said it would address the issues of a reported lack of physical cash in Zimbabwe and reduce combined fees for remittance, and mobile wallet transactions at the point of sale.

Zimbabwe is currently in the middle of a cash crisis, according to media reports, with the demand for physical notes outstripping supply. According to a Bloomberg report the country’s citizens are becoming concerned about a return to hyperinflation.

In a bid to counter the current issues, several large companies are allowing direct payment for goods and inbound remittances to be performed in alternative currencies.

Simultaneously, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is championing the use of mobile money services to ease commerce in the country. In comments made to news website New Zimbabwe, RBZ governor John Mangudya estimates the country’s total mobile money base at around 9 million, which accounts for just over half of the population.