Zim banks run out cash, impose $50 withdrawal limit

A $50 withdrawal limit per day has been imposed by some Zimbabwe banks as cash problems mount.

Although authorities say there is an increase in the use of plastic money and other electronic transactions, queues continue to be the order of the day at most banking halls as more depositors seek hard cash.

Last week the apex bank injected an additional $15 million worth of bond notes in the $5 denomination. This followed earlier tranches of $2 denominations worth more than $70 million since the end of November 2016.

The new notes were envisaged to improve liquidity and ease demand for foreign exchange.

But several banks such as CABS, ZB, National Building Society and Standard Chartered had reverted to giving $50 per day in either bond notes or United States dollars while some had run out of cash, forcing depositors to spend hours in queues. Met Bank was only giving $300 weekly withdrawals.

A CABS official said they did not have enough money hence they were forced to implement limits on withdrawals to ensure that they remain in business.

Zimbabwe has been battling cash shortages since last year, a trend that authorities blame on externalisation of foreign currency, hoarding and other illicit financial outflows. The strengthening of the US$ against regional currencies over the years has also worsened the situation by increasing demand for the greenback.

Meanwhile, Standard Chartered Bank Zimbabwe has immediately disabled the use of its Visa cards outside of Zimbabwe.