Harare (New Ziana) – Zimbabwe will introduce new higher denomination bank notes from next week as part of measures to ease the prevailing cash shortages, the Reserve Bank said on Friday.

In a statement, bank governor John Mangudya said a new $10 bank note will be released onto the market on Tuesday, and a $20 bank note sometime next month.

“The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe wishes to advise the public that the $10 and $20 dollar banknotes issued on 14 May 2020 through Statutory Instrument 103A of 2020 will come into circulation as follows: The $10 banknote will commence circulating on Tuesday 19 May 2020 and the $20 banknote will be in circulation by the first week of June 2020,” he said.

“The features of the said bank notes will be published prior to the circulation of the banknotes,” he added.

RBZ also announced the upward review of daily withdrawal limits to $1 000 per week.

“The bank also advised that it has revised withdrawal limits upwards from $300 per week to $1 000 per week with immediate effect from 19 May 2020. Banks have been directed to ensure that the withdrawal limits are strictly observed.

“The bank will not tolerate any abuse of currency and will decisively deal with any such abuse in terms of the law,” Mangudya said.
Until now, the country’s highest bank note was $5, introduced in 2016.

But with inflation at more than 600 percent, it had become increasingly difficult for the public to transact using a currency whose value had been massively eroded.

New Ziana