Bond notes

With the Reserve Bank finally releasing bond notes onto the market on November 28 and the authorities viewing the currency as a way of putting an end to cash hoarding and externalisation of foreign currency, mainly the US dollar, uncertainty has gripped the market whether the promissory currency will be accepted at par with the US dollar. The bond notes can only retain their value if shops and banks accept them at par to the US dollar.

The dawn of bond notes comes as a test to the RBZ on whether they are methodical enough to be trusted to manage a pseudo-currency pegged at par with the US dollar. If they are rejected by the market, the bond notes roll-out may usher in some instability.