Zimbabwe Halts Mobile Transactions as Hyperinflation Spurs Currency Flight

Zimbabwe's central bank, seeking to block attempts to avoid the country’s hyperinflation, halted all transactions conducted by "mobile money agents" this week.

By Adam B. Levine

Jun 30, 2020 at 9:17 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 14, 2021 at 8:58 a.m. UTC

Zimbabwe dollars — Zimbabwean banknote (Fedor Selivanov/Shutterstock)

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Zimbabwe's central bank, seeking to block attempts to avoid the country’s hyperinflation, halted all transactions conducted by "mobile money agents" this week, and limited payment sizes through other processors.

This impacts potentially up to 85% of all transactions.
Residents with money stored in one of these mobile providers will need to visit a local bank to withdraw their funds.
In a statement, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe said the move is necessary to "[p]rotect consumers on mobile money platforms which have been abused by unscrupulous and nonpartisan individuals and entities to create instability and inefficiencies in the economy."

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Adam B. Levine

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