New Two Dollar Bond Coin To Circulate Alongside Two Dollar Bond Note Next Monday.
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) Governor Dr. John Mangudya yesterday released a press statement on the introduction of the new $2 bond coin plus the $2 and $5 bond notes which will be in circulation with effect from 11 November.
The new coin which is similar to the present $1bond coin will circulate alongside the existing bond notes and coins.
Yesterday’s statement was silent on the notes, but Dr. Mangudya has indicated that specimens for the new $5 notes would be out soon after the gazetting of the Statutory Instrument by Government which formalizes the introduction of the notes and coins.
Citizens have been clamoring for more cash in circulation as Kombis are demanding cash with vendors, and tuckshops accepting cash.
Some small shops offer lower prices for cash, but the gap between cash and mobile money is less than the premium dealers, sometimes the same shopkeepers, demand for those buying notes and coins.
The black market exchange rate also has the premium built-in depending on whether one is buying US dollar notes for cash or digital transfer.
This suggests that as the premium charged on the black market falls, so the gap between cash prices and mobile money prices will narrow to the same degree since the gaps in prices for US dollar notes and for groceries in small shops are artificial and driven purely by the premium.
Cash barons have been charging a premium of up to 60 percent.
