Shops, Kombi Crews Reject $20 Banknotes In Bulawayo
Kombi crews and most shops in Bulawayo are reportedly now rejecting the $20 bill although it is still legal tender in the country.
However, big retail outlets such as OK Zimbabwe, PicknPay, Choppies, and Sai Mart, as well as Government departments are still accepting $20 banknotes.
Kombi crews argue that illegal foreign currency dealers whom they buy forex for fuel and other accessories from, for their fleets are no longer accepting the note.
A shop attendant at a takeaway shop at the corner of Fife Street and 9th Avenue told the Chronicle that their employer gives them Zimbabwe dollars to use as transport money. She said:
Kombis are rejecting the $20 note so if we accept it here we will be doing ourselves a disservice because it’s the same money that the employer will give us as transport hence our decision not to accept the notes anymore.
The $20 note was released into circulation in June 2020 alongside the $10 note.
It remained the highest denomination in the country for a full year until the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced the $50 note in July 2021.
The country’s highest note denomination is the $100 bill which came into circulation in April this year.
Businesses started rejecting the $5 note in early 2021 against the backdrop of a spike in the prices of goods and services.
A few months later, the market “demonetised” the $10 note as carrying piles of cash became inconvenient for the transacting public.
