As banks officially roll out bond notes, a lot of speculation has arisen among members of the public. The bond notes have been introduced as a measure to counter the cash crisis and denominations of $1, $2 and $5 will be released into circulation. The RBZ announced that members of the public will be restricted to $50 a day and $150 per week in bond notes as the central bank looks to not flood the market with the bond notes. According to the press statement released by the RBZ “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. 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.” This has led to questions about how the notes will solve the cash crisis if they are being limited to the same small amounts that the USD has been limited to over the last couple of months. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe advertised bond notes as an export incentive but now the notes are being distributed to everyone in the country. This raises concerns as to whether they really are an export incentive or an actual trading currency.
The central bank only advertised $2 and $5 notes with the announcement that larger denominations would be introduced later on as part of the export initiative. However, on release, a $1 bond coin was announced. With distrust of the banking sector already high among the public after the hyperinflation that came with bearer cheques, agro cheques, travellers cheques and the Zim dollar, trust is low as people feel that the bond notes will follow a similar route. The surprise of the $1 coin has been taken by many as yet another ploy by the RBZ to deceive the people and abruptly switch currencies as they did in the early 2000s. The informal sector in Zimbabwe has a large influence on the economy and their response to bond notes will determine whether the notes will be effective or not. With rumours that $100 in bond notes is trading at the equivalent of between $75-$85 in the streets already circulating, the new bond notes seem to be headed for disaster. Reports are also circulating that some major retailers, including OK and Choppies are rejecting the bond notes saying they haven’t educated their staff on the security features of the notes. Ecocash agents have also been refusing to take cash in transactions of bond notes for the same reason. With a significant number of the population relying on the Ecocash service, this will have a huge impact on the general public and how bond notes will be perceived from here on.
Leave a Reply