Zimbabwean ZiG

The ZiG currency was announced on 5 April 2024, taking the name from ZiG digital tokens, which are now available as GBDT.^[10] The ZiG is Zimbabwe's sixth attempt since 2008 at creating a new currency that will make it independent of the US dollar.^[11]

Since the currency crisis of 2008–2009, Zimbabwe has a multi-currency system. It was introduced in 2009 after the hyperinflation of the fourth Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL). For ten years there was no Zimbabwean currency. However in February 2019 the government introduced the Zimdollar (ZWL) on par with the US dollar, but it was quickly devalued to $2.50 Zimdollars per US-dollar.^[12] Briefly, from June 2019 to March 2020, the government required all transactions to be done in Zimdollars; but that quickly proved impractical.^[13] Legal use of foreign currencies was restored and they remain legal tender.^[14]

By April 2024, the value of the Zimdollar (the RTGS Dollar) had decreased by 99.9% to over one US-dollar equaling $30,000 Zimdollars officially, and even more on the black market.^[7] At that time, U.S. dollars accounted for four-fifths of all transactions.^[15]

In discussions the government decided to issue a new currency backed by gold reserves, the ZiG.^[16]

Originally established at $2.50 ZiG to one USD, the ZiG began trading on April 8 at an exchange rate of 13.56 ZiG to one USD.^[17] Since its launch, the proportion of transactions conducted in USD has declined from 85% to 70%.^[15] The government and the central bank expect the use of ZiG to increase in the country gradually. As an incentive, companies are required to pay fifty-percent of their quarterly taxes in ZiG.^[18][19] However, market forces have caused even the government to fail to switch to the new currency. Gift Mugano, a visiting professor of economics at the University of Zimbabwe Business School, said, "The government is [still] refusing its own money to pay for passports, fuel and other services."^[20]

By October, 2024, after the first six months of trading, the ZiG had officially lost half its value (27 ZiG to 1 USD), but suffered a seventy-five percent loss on the unregulated market (50 ZiG to 1 USD).^[21] In response, in late September the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe tightened monetary policies with the effect of halting further depreciation, at least so far.^[22][23]

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, over the weekend of 6 April to 7 April 2024, released the currency features.^{[citation needed]}

Banknotes of Zimbabwe Gold were announced in eight denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, and 200 ZiG; however, a later announcement stated that the 1, 2, and 5 ZiG denominations would instead be issued in coin form. They began circulating on 30 April 2024.^[24][5]

The ZiG notes are made from cotton paper, have the Zimbabwe Bird as their watermark, and are all equal in size, measuring 155 mm × 65 mm (6.1 in × 2.6 in).

According to a NewsDay article dated 31 May 2024, Governor John Mushayavanhu said that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe will not introduce 50- or 200-zig notes anytime soon as it fears that the bigger notes will fuel inflation. The notes have been printed and delivered. "We have introduced most of the cash denominations that we said we were going to. We have got ZiG1, ZiG2, ZiG5, ZiG10 and ZiG20 in circulation now," said Mushayavanhu. Only the 10- and 20-ZiG denominations have been confirmed to be issued as notes; the lower denominations are presumed to be coins. There was no word on the fate of the 100 ZiG note.[1]

The coins came in several forms: 1 ZiG, 2 ZiG, 5 ZiG. They were introduced on 30 April 2024, along with the banknotes.^[26][27]

There are plans to introduce also coins for 1⁄10 ZiG, 1⁄4 ZiG, and 1⁄2 ZiG as well.

Banknotes of the same denominations will not be released.

The Zimbabwean dollar (ZWL) lost about 32% value on interbank in two-day trading, moving from 22,950 to 33,903 per U.S. dollar. The conversion to ZiG was based on gold price and swap rate.^[28][29] On a press release dated 6 April 2024, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe announced that ZWL would be converted to ZiG at an exchange rate of 2498.7242 ZWL for one ZiG.^[30][31] Zimbabweans were given 21 days to convert their cash into ZiG.^[32]

The ZiG started trading on 8 April 2024 with an exchange rate of 13.56 ZiG per US dollar and was subsequently allowed to freely float.^[33]

As a result of inflation, on 27 September 2024, the RBZ devalued the ZiG by 42.55% against the US dollar.^[34] In the month of September, 2024, consumer prices rose by 37.2% in ZiG terms, compared to just 0.7% in USD terms during the same period. This was compared to a 5.8% rise in ZiG prices over the course of the month before (August).^[35]

All banks and financial institutions were instructed to convert all ZWL balances, obligations, and accounts to the new currency, ZiG.^[2]

• GBDT
• Zimbabwean dollar
• Mosi-oa-Tunya

• Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe Website