Zimbabwe’s government gave the central bank powers to impose civil penalties to enforce the exclusive use of the local dollar for domestic transactions and also banned the quoting of prices in foreign currency.
Overseas currencies, including the British pound, the U.S. dollar, the South African rand and the euro, aren’t allowed for payments of goods and services or fees and commissions, according to a notice in the official government gazette.
Although a multi-currency system ended in June, with the adoption of the Zimbabwe dollar as the sole legal tender, foreign exchange transactions are still preferred and taking place.
Under the new regulations, the central bank now has the power to impose penalties on persons found charging or paying in foreign currency for domestic transactions.
Zimbabwe faces an economic crisis marked by fuel and electricity shortages lasting up to 18 hours daily. Inflation was estimated at nearly 300% last month, according to the International Monetary Fund’s latest economic review released on Sept. 26.
