Zimbabwean banks have started issuing new notes and coins aimed at easing severe cash shortages, but they are severely limiting the amounts people can withdraw.
The new notes are the latest currency reform in the troubled southern African country’s constantly changing, and at times confusing, monetary framework.
Zimbabwe has the world’s second highest inflation after Venezuela, according to International Monetary Fund figures. With prices rising faster than at any point in a decade, amid rapid devaluation of the local currency, cash is king.
In 2009, the government abandoned the local currency amid hyperinflation and adopted a multi-currency system dominated by the dollar.
In June the government outlawed the use of foreign currencies, opting for a local currency mainly consisting of electronic and mobile money and a trickle of banknotes.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has struggled to fulfil promises to improve the economy two years after taking office following the resignation of the late Robert Mugabe.
Many retailers and service providers now demand payments in cash only. Others, including street vendors, charge a higher price for goods paid for using mobile money or bank cards.
