Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) governor John Mangudya yesterday has announced the ‘RTGS dollar’ as Zimbabwe’s new local currency.
Following 10 years without a recognised currency, the current use bond notes and electronic transfers will now form part of the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) dollar.
“The RTGS dollars shall be used by all entities in Zimbabwe, including government and individuals in Zimbabwe for the purposes of pricing of goods and services, record debts, accounting and settlement of domestic transactions,” he said.
Zimbabwe will continue to hold its multi-currency system which includes the US dollar and South African rand. Mangudya added that consumers could now buy currency with RTGS dollars, which would potentially decrease black market trade of the US dollar.
The market will later determine the exchange rate to be used between the US dollar and RTGS dollar
