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HARARE Jose Abreu Jersey , Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwe's biggest mobile phone operator Econet Wireless and MasterCard have jointly launched an international debit card that will assist in reducing cash dependence and increase financial inclusion in the country.


Econet chief executive officer Douglas Mboweni said Friday that the adoption of electronic payments is critical to Zimbabwe's economic development as the economy will benefit from reduced dependency on cash and increase involvement of financial institutions.


Econet said the partnership will result in more than 3 million MasterCard debit cards being issued to EcoCash's customers in the next five years. EcoCash, an Econet's mobile money service launched in 2011, boasts of 3.5 million customers.


In a country with a 13 million population, Econet has 9 million subscribers, leaving the second and third telecom firms Telecel and state-owned NetOne far behind.


"We do not expect anyone to still be using paper money in a year's time. It will be just like Europe or America Joe Crede Jersey , where you no longer see people carrying bundles of cash," said Mboweni.


The introduction of the international debit card marks the first time of its use in mobile money services in Africa.


Customers obtaining an EcoCash MasterCard debit card will be able to withdraw money from MasterCard-licensed automated-teller machines and pay for goods and services at all merchants that accept MasterCard payment cards both in and out of Zimbabwe.


A MasterCard official said the debit card was an innovative payment product that will address Zimbabwe's market realities, particularly by acknowledging the impact mobile money has on the economy.


"The EcoCash MasterCard debit card is a milestone towards realizing MasterCard's vision of a cashless society," said Charlton Goredema, MasterCard's vice president and area business head for southern Africa.


He said the card will enable EcoCash customers to benefit from MasterCard's global payments network as well as assist Zimbabwe to integrate its economy with others in the world.


The launch of the card comes just about two weeks after the country's second largest mobile operator Telecel introduced its own mobile money transfer debit card for use only in the country.


Econet said it had invested in more than 5 Jeff Keppinger Jersey ,000 point-of-sale ( POS) devices across the country.


It also plans to double to 10,000 the number of POS terminals over the next few months to its network of more than 13,000 EcoCash agents.


More parties have been implicated up and down China's fast food supply chain in a food safety scandal involving a US food processor, with an investigation into the scandal set to expand nationwide.


The China Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will launch a "thorough" probe into the scandal after Shanghai Husi Food Co, an affiliate of the Illinois-based food processing conglomerate OSI Group James Shields Jersey , came under investigation for selling expired meat to fast food giants in China, including McDonald's and KFC.


The administration also announced that it had required local authorities in Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Guangdong and Yunnan provinces to begin investigation of all facilities invested in by OSI Group. It also vowed to scrutinize meat sources and the process of food production in these factories.


Over 5 Harold Baines Jersey ,000 boxes of meat products from the company have been found to be illegally produced, while some 100 tons of products have been sealed by Tuesday, according to the Shanghai Municipal Food and Drug Administration. Nine companies, including Papa John's and 7-Eleven convenience stores, have been implicated.


According to a Monday report by Shanghai-based Dragon TV Frank Thomas Jersey , many tons of expired meat were used in the company's products, with some more than eight months past their expiration date, while workers from the company lied to inspectors from McDonald's.


An initial investigation showed that the company's decision to use expired food materials came from senior managers, and this policy has been in place for years, according to a follow-up report by Dragon TV.


"The exposure of Husi's missteps may appear to be good news to other food providers Early Wynn Jersey , as they can grab market share [after] Husi's rejection by [fast] food chains. But it is more of a warning to authorities and to the public that mismanagement might be an industry-wide problem," Ma Wenfeng, an agribusiness analyst, told the Global Times. Ma added that the loss of faith in fast food chains in China may also affect the business of food providers.


Fast food restaurants in China have been found at fault for offenses ranging from overusing antibiotics in animal feed to pumping food with additives. According to a report by China Business News in 2005, McDonald's boasted of its standards for food production and transportation Derek Holland Jersey , but sealed its business deals with suppliers with handshakes rather than contracts.


While Chinese food chains have publicly sought to distance themselves from Shanghai Husi, Reuters reported that McDonald's in Japan sourced about a fifth of its McNuggets from Shanghai Husi, and had halted sales of the product on Monday. McDonald's shares briefly fell as much as 1.4 percent to a 15-month low before closing down 0.4 percent, while Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut Carlton Fisk Jersey , saw its shares drop by 4.25 percent on Monday, equivalent to a drop in market cap value of nearly $1.5 billion.


MADRID, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- Following is the Spanish La Liga soccer result on Monday: