By Business Reporter – The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has reported a 14-percentage-point surge in the use of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency to 40% as of June 2025, up from 26% in April 2024, when it was introduced While the central bank hails this as a sign of growing acceptance, deep-rooted distrust of local currencies and Zimbabwe’s long history of monetary collapse continue to cloud its prospects Zimbabwe’s currency woes date back to the early 2000s, when economic mismanagement, land reform disruptions, and collapsing production triggered hyperinflation By 2008, inflation had spiraled out of control, forcing the country to abandon the Zimbabwe dollar in early 2009 and adopt a multicurrency system dominated by the US dollar
The local currency made a comeback in 2016 with the introduction of bond notes, initially pegged 1:1 to the greenback, but the peg quickly collapsed under market pressure In 2019, the RBZ reintroduced the Zimbabwe dollar (ZWL) and banned foreign currency transactions, but runaway inflation — driven by fiscal indiscipline, money printing, and exchange rate controls — eroded its value almost immediately By 2022, the ZWL was virtually worthless, and the economy was again heavily dollarised Against this backdrop, the ZiG — backed by gold and introduced on April 5, 2024 — was touted as a stable alternative
Yet its rollout has been dogged by limited public trust, restricted cash availability, and an entrenched preference for the US dollar in everyday transactions RBZ governor John Mushayavanhu, in the newly released 2025 Mid-Term Monetary Policy Statement, said the increase in ZiG usage reflected improved macroeconomic stability “The proportion of electronic ZiG in the National Payments System rose from 26% in April 2024 to over 40% in June 2025,” Mushayavanhu said, adding that demand for ZiG cash had also risen The RBZ has instructed banks to ensure at least 3% of their ZiG deposits are available as cash, in line with regional benchmarks
It has also ordered all banks to distribute ZiG through ATMs by the end of September 2025, with over ZiG200 million in cash currently in bank vaults awaiting distribution Source: Zimeye
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Source: Zimeye
