The RTGS dollar or RTG was the only official currency in Zimbabwe from June to November 2019. It was introduced on 21 February 2019 as part of the February 2019 Monetary Policy that was enacted by the Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, John Mangudya. The currency was made up of bond coins, bond notes and RTGS balances. The original bond notes were introduced in 2016 to ease US Dollar cash shortages at the time. They were renamed RTGS dollars in 2019, and in June 2019 became the only legal currency in Zimbabwe, replacing the multi-currency system. On 29 October 2019, when inflation on the RTGS dollar had reached over 300%, the central bank announced a "new" currency to be introduced in mid-November 2019. The "new" currency initially traded alongside the RTGS dollar, and was similarly valued. It did not have the same backing as the RTGS dollar.
Purposes
The purposes of the currency are the same as other currencies, including:
However, the core purpose of the RTGS dollar was to address some of the economic and financial challenges faced by the Zimbabwe, especially the relative lack of foreign currency held by the government, but officially including:
promote locals from pricing of goods in foreign currency only
Value
Officially the rate of the RTGS$ to the US$ was originally set at 1 US$ equaled 2.50 RTGS$, but this was not the case on the open markets where the value fluctuated in the first half of 2019 between US$1 = 7 RTGS$ and US$1 = 13 RTGS$. By March 2020, an attempt was made to peg the so-called Zimdollar at US$1 = 25 RTGS$, but inflation continued and this effort was abandoned. By June 2020 inflation was at 737.3% down from 785.6% in May 2020. The exchange rate is determined by the forces of supply and demand on an auction market the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe set up along with the announcement of the RTGS dollar. The market is called Interbank Foreign Currency Exchange Market and is made up of banks and Bureau de change.
Other currencies
When the RTGS Dollar was introduced in February 2019, Zimbabweans used a mix of foreign currencies including the US dollar, the South African rand, and the Chinese yuan. In June 2019 the use of foreign currencies in local transactions was prohibited as part of the prospective plan for a new national currency. However, inflation and other factors created a dearth of actual bills, and the US dollar was again authorized for local use in March 2020. The government has said that the authorization to use US dollars in local transactions is just temporary, but by June 2020, some Zimbabwean civil service personnel were already demanding payment of their salaries in US dollars, due to hyperinflation in the Zimdollar.
