Cash shortages affecting trade in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has been hit with a cash shortage since 2016. This has caused great distress among citizens as they are forced to wait in long bank queues to withdraw money.

The government introduced bonds notes in November 2016 as a move to curb cash shortages. However the problem persists and the queues keep getting longer.  There are shortages of Bond notes as well which has led to people receiving $50-100 bond coins at the banks.

The cash shortage has hit the general public hard as shops reject coins because they are cumbersome to carry and transact with.

Vendors in particular are affected because they do not have swiping machines so they lose customers as people buy most of their commodities in shops which have the option of paying with plastic money. The shortage has  crippled small traders who cannot use plastic money because their vegetable stalls cannot afford swipe machines.