Zimbabwe limits cash-outs to $100, to inject cash into the market

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has lifted the ban on cash-outs but it has now capped them at $100 per transaction.

The central bank also said it is injecting cash into the market but did not say how much and when.

Under its agreement with the International Monetary Fund, Zimbabwe was supposed to drip feed only $400 million up to the end of this year.

The country needs between $1.5 billion and $2.25 billion in circulation to meet international standards.

An injection of $400 million will increase the money in circulation to just $1 billion.

The RBZ banned cash-ins, cash-outs and cash-backs on Monday because of widespread abuse of the facility as agents were charging a premium of 60 percent.

Though the Zimbabwe dollar appreciated on the black market for a while, it started falling when dealers devised new methods of transacting.

In a statement today, the central bank said it had enhanced monitoring mechanisms to mitigate against the abuse of payment systems and ensure that abusers are brought to book.

“To this end, payment system providers and agents are hereby advised that the cash-out facility is now capped at $100 per transaction with immediate effect,” the bank said.

“Related to that, existing operational cash in and cash back limits shall remain.

“Furthermore, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will be injecting cash into the economy without changing money supply.

“In this regard, banks will exchange existing RTGS balances for cash thus maintaining the monetary base unchanged.”

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