Zimbabwe Bans Foreign Currency

Foreign currencies are no longer acceptable as legal tender in Zimbabwe, with Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube saying Monday that the Zimbabwe dollar is now the only acceptable medium of exchange for local transactions.

This effectively sidelines the multiple currency regime that Zimbabwe has been using alongside the bond notes and the recently introduced RTGS$ currency.

In a Statutory Instrument (SI) on Monday, the Zimbabwean Minister of Finance gazetted the official side-lining of the SA Rand, Botswana Pula and US Dollar as legal tender.

“The Zimbabwe dollar shall, with effect from 24^th June 2019 … be the sole legal tender in Zimbabwe in all transactions,” reads the SI.

The new finance measures have been legally effected under The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (Legal Tender) Regulations 2019.

“The British pound, United States Dollar, South African rand, Botswana pula and any other foreign currency whatsoever shall no longer be legal tender alongside the Zimbabwe dollar in any transactions in Zimbabwe.”

It also notes that “the opening or operation of foreign currency designated accounts… shall continue to be designated in the foreign currencies with which they are opened and in which they are operated”.