New ZiG notes out in April as govt unveils bank charges shake-up

Itai Mazire

Reserve Bank Governor John Mushayavanhu today unveiled a sweeping Monetary Policy Statement, announcing the introduction of new higher-denomination ZiG notes next month alongside a major overhaul of bank charges that will see some fees scrapped entirely.

New ZiG 10, 20 and 50 notes will begin circulating on 7 April, the Governor announced. The introduction of the larger denominations is aimed at easing cash transactions, though the central bank clarified that the ZiG 100 and 200 notes will only be introduced at a later stage.

In a move set to impact every bank customer, the Governor confirmed that charges for balance inquiries and cash deposits have been eliminated entirely. However, new caps have been placed on other transaction fees, with cash withdrawal fees set at 2 percent and Point-of-Sale transaction charges capped at 1.5 percent.

The central bank also revealed the country’s national reserves currently stand at USD1.3 billion, comprising 4.2 tonnes of gold valued at USD738 million and nearly half a billion US dollars in cash. Import cover remains at 1.5 months.

In a significant policy shift for the mining sector, small-scale miners-who previously retained all of their foreign exchange earnings-are now required to surrender 10 percent. The primary foreign exchange retention threshold for other sectors remains steady at 70 percent.

The Governor also maintained the primary policy rate at 35 percent.

In a bid to combat rising mobile money fraud, the central bank has directed all Mobile Network Operators to conduct comprehensive audits of their accounts. They have been ordered to deactivate any unauthorized or fraudulent accounts immediately.