The Zimbabwe dollar is the official currency in Zimbabwe. Its ISO code is ZWL and the official abbreviation is Z. $. The well-known dollar sign $ is often used as a symbol. The currency is, however, suspended for an indefinite period of time and will only be reintroduced once the state has stabilized its economic situation.
At the same time, several currencies such as the euro, dollar or the South African rand were accepted as full-fledged means of payment, after they had previously been used, among other things, to pay salaries for civil servants.
History of the currency of Zimbabwe
The currency is the successor to the Rhodesian pound and dollar from the 1960’s and 1970’s and was officially introduced on February 2, 2009 after the old Zimbabwe dollar (ZWR) became worthless due to daily inflation of 98%. At that time, the first 100 trillion Zimbabwe dollar banknotes were being issued.
It was the fourth time in the history of Zimbabwe that the Zimbabwe dollar had to be revalued due to the extreme annual inflation, which was at times given in trillion percent. Between 2006 and 2009 alone, the Zimbabwe dollar had to be exchanged three times and reassigned under the same name, as inflation meant that it was no longer possible to keep up with the production of newer and newer banknotes.
After cutting the currency again by 12 zeros in February 2009, the government issued new dollar bills amounting to up to 500 Zimbabwe dollars in hopes of curbing constant inflation. However, since the hoped-for positive effect did not materialize, the Zimbabwe dollar was suspended indefinitely by the government in April and is only to be reintroduced when the state has stabilized its economic situation.
Exchange into the currency of Zimbabwe
Due to the suspension of the Zimbabwe dollar, it is currently possible to travel to Zimbabwe without having to exchange money beforehand or in the country. You only have to choose between euros, dollars or the South African rand.