Zimbabwean commercial banks commenced issuing new notes and coins on Tuesday as part of the government’s efforts to address a cash shortage that has gripped the southern African country since 2016.
The new currency comprised new Z$5 and Z$2 notes as well as Z$2 coins.
However, the banks limited withdrawals to $100 per individual, enough to buy five loaves of bread.
The new bond notes and coins were announced by Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya last month following a Monetary Policy Committee meeting held in Harare.
The bond note is a free-falling local currency that has been in circulation since November 2016.
However, the currency has been in short supply since its introduction, prompting the RBZ to introduce earlier this year a virtual currency called Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar to operate alongside the bond note.
The RTGS dollars are electronic dollars that only reflect in depositors’ bank accounts.
According to Mangudya, the RBZ would gradually exchange the RTGS dollars in people’s bank accounts with physical cash.
JN/APA