The Reserve Bank Of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has released a public statement saying that old and worn USD notes are still legal tender and no seller should decline them.
The statement comes at a time when many sellers including supermarkets were being highly critical of US$ notes to the extent of declining notes that have even small cuts on the edges. Their excuse was that the banks were declining them as well.
On top of that, some sellers were claiming that some notes especially $100 dollar bills that were released before 2006 have a lesser value than those released in/after the year 2006 and some sellers reportedly pro-rate such notes.
The public statement also comes after the US Embassy recently clarified the issue and said that old USD notes are still acceptable as they do not expire. The full statement is attached below.
OLD AND WORN UNITED STATES DOLLAR NOTES
It has come to the attention of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (the Bank) that some persons are refusing to accept old and worn United States dollar (U.S. dollar) notes alleging that they are old and mutilated and therefore of no value.
For the benefit of the transacting public and as already advised by the USA Embassy in Zimbabwe in its Tweet on 16 November 2020, the Bank wishes to inform and restate the position of the United States Government that U.S. dollar notes do not expire no matter their age, and that the U.S. Government does not even consider old, worn notes to be mutilated as long as more than half of the note is intact, and the value of the note is clear.
John P. Mangudya Governor
21 December 2020
