The South African Reserve Bank has not received any official communication from Zimbabwean authorities for the adoption of the South African rand as the main unit of trade, Jabulani Sikhakhane, the divisional head of communications at the Bank, has said. A severe US dollar shortage in Zimbabwe has persisted for more than a year and has forced banks to impose daily withdrawal limits of about $50. The use of international bank cards outside the country has also been suspended by some banks, such as Standard Chartered. "Bond notes", which authorities introduced in November last year as a stop-gap measure to plug in cash shortages, are also now in short supply. Banks have become increasingly reliant on issuing bond notes to depositors. Banking industry players say the bond notes have found their way into neighbouring countries SA, Botswana and Mozambique, where there is a large presence of cross-border traders. Barclays Bank Zimbabwe MD George Guvamatanga told delegates at a financial m...
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