CENTRAL BANK HALTS MOBILE CASH OVERNIGHT
\nAs local news outlet TechZim reported on September 30, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has shut down so-called cash-in, cash-out transactions.<\/p>\n
Ubiquitous in Zimbabwe, cash-in, cash-out allows users to convert their mobile phone balances into hard cash and vice versa.<\/p>\n
In the face of economic turmoil, RBZ issued a directive instructing all mobile providers to refuse such transactions with immediate effect.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has come to the attention of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe that some economic agents are engaging in illegal activities abusing the cash-in, cash-out and cash-back facilities thereby compromising the public interest objectives of national payment systems in the economy,\u201d the directive begins.<\/p>\n
It continues:<\/p>\n
Notable activities include the buying and selling of cash through mobile money agents at high rates above the approved charges for cash-in and cash-out with some economic agents not banking cash sales under the disguise of cash-back services.<\/p>\n
As Bitcoinist reported, both the government and RBZ lie at the center of blame for a chaotic economic policy which has left Zimbabweans with deteriorating wealth.<\/p>\n
The sudden decision to vilify cash in, cash out appears all the more suspect as it came days after the state banned foreign currencies. This in turn followed a ban on US dollar trades in July. So far no mention of Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies has been made.<\/p>\n
ECHOES OF VENEZUELA, ANOTHER REASON FOR BITCOIN
\nNow, even quoting prices in a unit other than the inflationary local dollar will trigger penalties. At the same time, RBZ lies mired in scandal after it emerged officials signed off on almost $1 billion of unsanctioned payouts.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, Bitcoin users watching the mayhem unfold did not mince their words.<\/p>\n
\u201cA stark reminder that your bank account is just an IOU,\u201d well-known social media trader Rhythm summarized on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Restricting economic freedom by enforcing the use of the unsound dollar puts Zimbabwe in a similar position to Venezuela.<\/p>\n
Long the victims of hyperinflation, citizens there also face major restrictions on forex, with the government demanding the use of its in-house digital currency Petro.<\/p>\n
As Bitcoinist noted, certain crucial transactions such as for passports must now occur exclusively in Petro.<\/p>\n
Unlike Venezuela, however, Zimbabwe may continue to see little uptake of Bitcoin. Even during volatility on local exchanges in July, overall volumes remained broadly smaller.<\/p>\n
According to listings on P2P platform Localbitcoins, Zimbabwe had a grand total of three people offering Bitcoin trades at press time.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CENTRAL BANK HALTS MOBILE CASH OVERNIGHT As local news outlet TechZim reported on September 30, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has shut down so-called cash-in, cash-out transactions. Ubiquitous in Zimbabwe, cash-in, cash-out allows users to convert their mobile phone balances into hard cash and vice versa. In the face of economic turmoil, RBZ issued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,6],"tags":[679,239,896],"class_list":{"0":"post-14304","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-economy","9":"tag-central-bank","10":"tag-economic-chaos","11":"tag-mobile-cash"},"yoast_head":"\n