Interactive product teardown

OmariSave looks simple on the surface. The economics underneath are more layered.

Adjust the slider. Pick a date range. See what the numbers actually show versus what the marketing says.

Headline vs reality
Marketing
US$10  ·  12%+  ·  easy access
Underlying structure
Fund units · fees · tax · lock-up · withdrawal delay

What would your money look like?

Built from the actual monthly yield figures in the Old Mutual fund documents. Fees and withholding tax are layered in so the number you see is closer to what you would actually keep.

Investment settings

Initial deposit US$100
US$20US$10,000
Monthly top-up US$0
US$0US$500
You put in
total deposited
Gross value
before WHT
Est. fees paid
mgmt + other
Net take-home
after fees & WHT

Balance over time

Before tax (fees deducted) After WHT (take-home)

Return breakdown

Gross interest earned
Management fee (1.50% p.a.)
Other charges (0.30% p.a.)
Net interest (after fees)
Withholding tax (15%)
Net return to you

What the wrapper hides

Gross earnings
Management + other fees
Withholding tax on gains
Net gain retained
This is illustrative, not exact. The actual Omari wrapper logic, timing, and tax treatment may differ.

Based on actual Old Mutual USD Money Market Fund monthly yields (Jan 2022 – Sept 2025). Fees per fact sheet: 1.50% + 0.30% p.a. (excl VAT). Withholding tax 15% on net interest per investor account. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Six key things hidden behind the pitch

Core insight
Fintech front-end, asset manager back-end
Signal
US$10

$10 entry is not the full story

The ad says US$10. The fund documents say the minimum initial deposit is US$20, with top-ups from US$10. Something is sitting between the user and the fund — likely pooling many accounts together to meet that threshold.

Signal
Unit Trust

This is not just a wallet

What looks like a savings wallet is built on top of a unit trust. The Old Mutual USD Money Market Fund pools investor money and puts it into local USD instruments. The wallet experience sits on top of that.

Signal
30 + 14

30 days is only the first gate

There is a 30-day minimum investment period. After that, withdrawals can take up to 14 working days to process. In the worst case, getting your money out could take several weeks after the lock-up ends.

Signal
Variable

12% is not guaranteed

The marketing leads with 12%+. The fund documents say returns are not guaranteed and past performance does not predict future results. The yield moves with market interest rates. When rates fall, so does the return.

Signal
1.8% p.a.

Fees exist in the background

The fund charges 1.50% per year in management fees plus 0.30% in other charges. On a 13% gross return, fees alone take more than one in every eight dollars earned — before tax is even considered.

Signal
WHT

Tax may apply

The fact sheet mentions withholding tax on earned income. At 15%, that is another cut on top of the fees. The headline number is the gross yield. What you actually take home is something lower.

How it probably works

1
User deposits money into the Omari app
2
OmariSave holds those deposits and routes them as a pooled investment
3
Money is invested in the Old Mutual USD Money Market Fund
4
Old Mutual deploys capital into local USD money market instruments
5
Yield, fees, taxes, and withdrawal rules flow back up to the user

The risks underneath

Liquidity risk
Large withdrawal requests put pressure on the fund. When many investors want out at once, processing slows down and access to cash is delayed.
Credit risk
The fund invests in instruments issued by banks and government entities. If any of those issuers runs into trouble, the fund carries that exposure.
Currency / regulatory risk
The account is in USD, but the investments do not leave Zimbabwe. Local rules around currency access still apply. The denomination reduces one type of risk but does not eliminate the others.
Inflation risk
Even a 12% USD return may not protect purchasing power if the cost of things you need rises faster over time.

How the $10 minimum might work

The Old Mutual fund has a minimum investment that is higher than US$10. So how does Omari offer US$10 entry? The most likely answer is pooling. Instead of sending each user's deposit to the fund separately, Omari probably collects deposits until the combined total is large enough to invest as one.

Without pooling
User A
Fund
User B
Fund
User C
Fund

Each user would need to meet the fund's minimum on their own. At US$10, most could not.

With pooling (likely)
Many users
Omari pooled account
Fund investment

Small deposits from many people combine into one investment that meets the fund's requirements.

Full flow (simplified)
User deposit
Omari wallet balance
Omari pooled investment
Old Mutual money market fund
Treasury bills / bank deposits / other instruments

Each user sees their own balance in the app. The fund likely sees only Omari as the single investor.

Smaller entry amounts

Pooling means each individual does not need to meet the fund's minimum on their own. That is what makes the US$10 entry point possible. The fund itself would not accept it.

Smoother withdrawals

The platform can pay out a withdrawal from its own float while the fund redemption is still processing in the background. The user sees a simpler experience. The actual mechanics take longer.

Platform revenue

Platforms like this typically earn in a few ways — a share of the fund's management fees, a margin between the fund's actual yield and what they advertise, or returns on money sitting in the platform before it reaches the fund.

This is not a new idea. Many well-known financial apps sit between the user and a traditional financial product — handling the interface while a bank or fund manager handles the actual investment.

Apple Savings PayPal savings Revolut interest Robinhood cash

Each of these products packages a traditional financial product inside a simpler consumer experience. The branding is different. The underlying model is the same.

Every layer adds something. But every layer also adds distance between you and your money.

U
User — sees a balance, a yield rate, and a simple interface
P
Platform (Omari) — pools deposits, manages the interface, and distributes returns
F
Investment fund — invests the pooled money into market instruments
A
Underlying assets — the actual instruments generating the yield
A useful way to think about it

Rather than a simple wallet feature, the product may be closer to:

A mobile gateway to an investment fund, presented through a wallet interface.

That structure can lower the barrier to investing. It also means the product is more complex underneath than it appears on the surface.

Five things the ads leave out

1. It is not a savings wallet

Your money does not sit in an account waiting to be claimed. It goes into a money market fund, which puts it to work in treasury bills and bank instruments. That makes this an investment, not a savings account. The distinction matters when things go wrong.

2. The 12% is the current rate, not a promise

The fund earns what the market pays. In early 2022, the monthly yield was as low as 0.4%. You can see that in the calculator above. The 12%+ in the ad reflects recent conditions. It is not a guaranteed number for the future.

3. There are two waiting periods, not one

First, a 30-day minimum holding period. Then up to 14 working days for the withdrawal to process. In practice, that could mean waiting six weeks from the moment you decide you want your money back.

4. Fees come off every year

1.8% per year does not sound like much. But it is deducted regardless of performance. On a 13% gross yield, that is roughly one in seven dollars of earnings going to fees — before tax. Use the calculator to see the cumulative effect over your chosen period.

5. The investments stay in Zimbabwe

The account is in USD, but the money does not leave the country. The fund invests in local banks and Zimbabwean treasury instruments. The USD denomination reduces currency risk. The underlying exposure to the local financial system remains.

Six things the pitch does not say

Not a plain savings account
Not instant-access money
Not a guaranteed 12%
Not fee-free
Not tax-free in all cases
Not risk-free
Bottom line
$10 in the ad
does not mean instant, guaranteed, or fee-free.
A better description: a mobile interface for an Old Mutual unit trust, packaged to feel like a savings wallet. That is not a bad thing. But it is a different thing.