What is the currency of Zimbabwe
today ? There is no more official local currency with international rate and
exchange. Well, then USD ! Who can believe that locals are using using USD.
Notes it is possible, how about coins ?
Getting off the train, looking for a
Bureau de change… forget it, there are not. Western Union, no, go to a bank...
and that man in Western Union, has guided me to a car just parked in front of
the door. The women inside has a lot, a lot of green notes, but not dollars,
BOND ! and a calculator. After many calculations she was offering me 2,1 bond
for 1 USD. How can I trust her, from where this currency is coming ? Nothing on
my currency rates app on my mobile.
Then I changed 80 USD. May be it is
too much, may be all this is just a joke.
So, my 80 USD became 168 Bond with
only 2 and 5 Bond notes.
Everyone in town is using that local
currency. There is coins too 10, 20, 25, 50 cents and 1 bond.
After a short while using that
currency, something is going very bizarre in Zimbabwe (check on Google).
Remember my change rate from the
street (black market) was 2,1 Bond for 1 USD.
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1
drive by taxi = 6 dollars, actually 6 bonds, so far let’s say all is “normal”
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Breakfast
at my guest house, the lady did not have any USD change then I’ve proposed to
pay with Bond, no problem ! here 5 USD became 5 bond (that means half price
with my change rate)
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1
train ticket to go up to Victoria Falls is 12 dollars, USD or Bond ? doesn’t
matter it is same has said the man at the ticket office (that means half price
with my change rate)
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1
burger at the hotel in Victoria Falls, price 15 dollars, then if you pay with
Bond it is 15 bonds (from where you have Bond he asked me) or it is 10 USD if
you pay by USD cash or Credit card. 33% discount he was saying me, but actually
with my change rate from Bulawayo, my discount was 50% !
The last days a new economic crisis
has started. Zimbabwe have no more enough foreign currency to pay imports. We
can not find anymore some products in supermarkets. Gas sounds facing a serious
issue with queuing at the gas station and prices have started to increase.
Today, I was in a supermarket in Victoria Falls, prices are like in Europe or
higher, in dollars USD or Bond ? locals and have Bond.
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