Harare -- The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has announced that new 2 Zimbabwe dollar bond coins will go into circulation on November 11 and will be used alongside the existing bond notes and coins.
A statement by RBZ governor John Mangudya which was published in local newspapers Tuesday said the coins would be similar to the 1 dollar bond coin currently in circulation.
"In line with the pronouncement made in the 2019 Mid-term Monetary Policy Statement and the Press statement of 2 October 2019 to increase the level of physical cash in circulation, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe wishes to advise the public that will effect from 11 November 2019, it shall issue a two-dollar bond coin which will circulate alongside the two-dollar bond note," he said.
RBZ started introducing bond notes and coins in 2016 in a bid to ease cash shortages as the United States dollar, which was the major unit of trade then, became scarce as the country failed to generate meaningful foreign currency.
Although the use of plastic money has increased over the years, there are some people such as commuter transport operators, part-time laborers, small traders and vendors who demand cash for goods and services provided.
Mangudya has also since announced that the central bank will also in November introduce proper 2 dollar and 5 dollar notes, which will also operate alongside the bond notes.
He said the central bank would gradually inject about 1 billion Zimbabwe dollars cash over the next six months to bring the amount in circulation to 1.9 billion dollars or 10 percent of total deposits.