Zimbabwe to release bond notes on Monday but withdrawals to be limited to $150 a week

Zimbabwe will release the much talked about bond notes on Monday but will limit withdrawals of the new currency to $50 a day with a maximum of $150 a week thus allaying fears that the notes will flood the market.

Some banks are currently allowing clients to withdraw US$50 a day with a maximum of US$250 a week.

In a statement today, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, said it will release $10 million worth of $2 bond notes and $2 million in $1 bond coins.

The notes are backed by a $200 million facility while the coins -introduced in 2014 in 1, 5, 10 and 25 cents, are backed by a $50 million facility.

The central bank said the bond notes will be deposited in the existing US dollar bank accounts.

“In line with the Bank’s thrust to promote a less cash society through the use of plastic money, withdrawal limits of bond notes have been set at a maximum of $50 per day and a maximum of $150 per week,” the central bank said.
 

“This measure is in tandem with the objective of the Bank to release bond notes into the market on a measured basis which is critical to mitigate against abuse of bond notes.”

On Thursday, Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa backtracked on fast-tracking  the bond notes bill saying it would go through the normal process, including consulting the public.

The consultations were expected to start on Tuesday.

Full RBZ statement:

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