Zimbabwe is in no hurry to stop using the US dollar, and money held in foreign currency accounts (FCAs) will not be forcibly converted into the local currency, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has said.

Deputy Governor Dr Innocent Matshe told the 2027 Pre-Budget Seminar in Bulawayo on Wednesday 28 October that there would be "no rush" into a mono-currency system. The move to using only the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) currency will be market-driven and based on economic conditions rather than a fixed date, according to reports by 263Chat, New Ziana, The Zimbabwe Mail and Harare.Today.

Matshe said existing contracts and foreign currency accounts would be "maintained and honoured", and that deposits would not be converted into local currency by force, 263Chat, The Zimbabwe Mail and Harare.Today reported.

Eight tests before ZiG-only

Matshe said the switch depends on eight conditions being met (263Chat, New Ziana). New Ziana lists them as:

1. low and stable single-digit inflation;

2. reserves covering three to six months of imports;

3. an efficient foreign exchange management system;

4. a stable exchange rate;

5. more demand for ZiG;

6. a stable financial sector;

7. an efficient national payment system;

8. cohesion between fiscal and monetary policy.

"If these conditions are not fulfilled, it would be futile for us to move to mono-currency," he said, as quoted by New Ziana.

Where things stand

According to New Ziana's report, which other outlets have not yet matched in full, Matshe said the RBZ's weighted mono-currency scorecard stood at 54.9% in September 2026, up from 50.1%, with six of the eight tests met. He put foreign reserves at US$1.9 billion. New Ziana also reports him saying annual inflation fell to 2.9% in August before edging up to 3.7% in September, and that the exchange rate has held at about ZiG25 to ZiG27 to the US dollar. We have not seen an RBZ document with these figures.

Matshe also told the seminar that no business, including schools, is allowed to refuse ZiG payments under the multi-currency system, New Ziana reported. He admitted ZiG take-up has been slower in border towns such as Beitbridge and Plumtree, where foreign currency has long dominated cross-border trade.

Why it matters

Zimbabwe has run a multi-currency system for most of the past 17 years. Savers remember the 2008 hyperinflation and the 2019 conversion of US dollar balances into the RTGS dollar, so every new step towards a single local currency raises fears about what happens to money kept in US dollars. ZiG was introduced in April 2024 as a currency backed by gold and foreign reserves.

For families in the diaspora who send US dollars home, or who keep FCA balances in Zimbabwe, Wednesday's message was clear: for now the central bank says those balances stay in dollars, and any move to ZiG-only depends on the eight tests rather than a deadline. The RBZ has not given a timeline, and we have not yet seen an RBZ press release on Matshe's remarks.

Matshe spoke on the opening day of the four-day seminar, where Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube also cut the 2027 growth forecast to 3.5%. Ncube presents the 2027 national budget to Parliament on 19 November.

Reporting by 263Chat, New Ziana, The Zimbabwe Mail and Harare.Today, rewritten by the Zimbo Grapevine News Desk.

Sources: 263Chat (Lovejoy Mutongwiza), 28 Oct 2026: https://www.263chat.com/rbz-zimbabwe-mono-currency-us-dollar-transition/ · New Ziana (Sharon Tawuya), 28 Oct 2026: https://www.newziana.co.zw/no-rush-to-mono-currency-rbz/ · The Zimbabwe Mail, Oct 2026: https://thezimbabwemail.com/news/zimbabwe/rbz-zig-single-currency-transition-dollar-deposits/ · Harare.Today, 28 Oct 2026: https://harare.today/no-rush-to-scrap-multicurrency-rbz-says-as-it-vows-to-honour-all-contracts-and-foreign-currency-accounts/

Related: Ncube trims 2027 growth forecast to 3.5% as budget talks open