Zimbabwe Sets New USD Cash Limit for International Travellers
The government has gazetted a regulation introduced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) last month that limits the amount of USD cash travellers can take out of the country.
Individuals are now permitted to carry a maximum of US$2,000, reduced from the previous limit of US$10,000.
Last week, the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) warned that this restriction could disrupt the informal import trade and potentially result in job losses within the informal sector. BAZ said:
[We saw the] reduction of the foreign currency an individual can take out from the country from US$10 000 to US$2 000. [Thus the] reduction in externalisation of funds. [This will see the] disruption to informal import trade, with more transactions taking place underground.
However, the government has enacted Statutory Instrument 166 of 2024, which reduces the amount of United States dollars a traveller can take out of the country, despite protests from bankers.
The new regulations, which can be cited as Exchange Control (General) (Amendment) Order, 2024 (No. 21) reads:
IT is hereby notified that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, in terms of section 40 of the Exchange Control Regulations, 1996, and with the approval of the Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Investment Promotion, has made the following order: –
1. This order may be cited as the Exchange Control (General) (Amendment) Order, 2024 (No. 21).
2. The Exchange Control (General) Order, 1996, published in Statutory Instrument 110 of 1996 (hereinafter called “the principal order”) is amended in section 13 (“Exports”) in subsection (1) by the repeal of paragraphs (b) and (c) and the substitution of-
“(b) the maximum amount of Zimbabwean currency notes and coins that may be taken out of Zimbabwe on the person or in the baggage of a person leaving Zimbabwe shall be an amount equivalent to two thousand United States dollars;
(c) the maximum amount of foreign currency that may be taken out of Zimbabwe on the person or in the baggage of a person who is leaving Zimbabwe shall be a total of two thousand United States dollars or its equivalent in any other currency or combination of currencies.”
3. Section 14 of the principal order is repealed and substituted by-
“Possession of currency in the departure or transit lounge
14 (1) The amount of Zimbabwean currency that a person who is about to leave Zimbabwe may possess, without authorisation in terms of section 22 of the Exchange Control Regulations, 1996, Statutory Instrument 109 of 1996, in the departure or transit lounge of an airport or other port of entry or exit, shall be an amount equivalent to two thousand United States dollars.
(2) The amount of foreign currency that a person who is about to leave Zimbabwe may possess, without authorisation in terms of section 22 of the Exchange Control Regulations, 1996, Statutory Instrument 109 of 1996, in the departure or transit lounge of an airport or other port of entry or exit, shall be a total of two thousand United States dollars or its equivalent in any other currency or combination of currencies.”.
4. The Exchange Control (General) (Amendment) Order, 2023 (No. 20), published in Statutory Instrument 20A of 2023, is repealed.
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