Zimbabwe's central bank said on Saturday it will circulate $10 million worth of new bond notes on Monday, a quasi-currency that authorities expect to ease a serious cash crunch, but will limit withdrawals to curb any abuses.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) first announced the plan in May to issue bond notes to address chronic cash shortages and supplement dwindling U.S. dollars that have been in circulation for the past seven years.
But many Zimbabweans are sceptical about the scheme after a 2008 multi-billion percent inflationary meltdown caused by rampant money-printing. The new plan has already caused a run on the banks as Zimbabweans empty their accounts of hard currency.
The bond notes will be officially interchangeable 1:1 with the U.S. dollar.
Source: Reuters
See also: India grapples with the effects of withdrawing 86% of cash in circulation
(Score: 2) by kazzie on Tuesday November 29 2016, @06:14AM
1) Currency wear out. You'll need a new source if they are in actual circulation, and it is easier to print your own than to always need to go back to the US, especially unofficially.
2) This opens the possibility of an easier transition to a
This. The same US dollars havr been circulating in Zimbabwe for so long (since 2009) that many of them are falling apart. Zimbabwe's government can't print new US Dollars, but can reintroduce their own notes.