Illegal foreign currency dealers remain optimistic that their operations will not be affected by the introduction of the interbank market auction of the real-time gross settlement dollars (RTGS$).
US$100 is being exchanged for $370 RTGS$ or bond note on the black market, while on the interbank market it is trading at 1:2,5.
An illegal foreign currency dealer who spoke to Newsday had this to say:
This thing about banks is not an issue for us; they don’t have the money and we will continue to supply both industry and individuals with the much-needed foreign exchange, both in RTGS$ and United States dollars, giving the most attractive rate and efficient trade.
Banks believe that the parallel market will continue to exist since they do not offer US dollars willy-nilly. A senior banker who spoke to Newsday said:
We are only selling to people with invoices that prove they want to import, so if you just come in and try to buy US dollars, we are not selling to individuals, they will have to go to the bureau de change because banks won’t cater for that.