Zimbabwe Extends Multi-Currency System to 2030

Zimbabwe's government has announced its decision to extend the multi-currency system, with the U.S. dollar at its core, until 2030, reversing its previous plan to end the system by 2025.

The earlier announcement of discontinuing the multi-currency system by 2025 had caused uncertainty in the banking sector, leading to some banks refusing to issue loans beyond that year.

However, President Emmerson Mnangagwa has now repealed the 2019 order that set the 2025 deadline, declaring that transactions and payments for goods and services in foreign currencies will remain valid until December 31, 2030.

Currently, nearly 80% of local transactions are conducted in U.S. dollars due to dwindling confidence in the Zimbabwean dollar.

The country initially abandoned its inflation-plagued currency in 2009, relying on foreign currencies, mainly the U.S. dollar.

In 2019, the local currency was reintroduced but swiftly lost value, depreciating by over 80% this year despite the government's efforts to restore confidence.