HARARE – The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has reaffirmed that only the interbank market has the authority to determine the country’s official exchange rate, dismissing recent misinterpretations of its monetary policy.
The clarification follows confusion within the tourism sector, where some Business Member Organisations (BMOs) mistakenly interpreted the term “market-determined exchange rate” to mean that businesses could set their own rates. This led to traders violating the stipulated exchange rates, prompting the RBZ to issue a corrective statement.
In a statement, RBZ Governor Dr John Mushayavanhu emphasized that Zimbabwe operates under a floating exchange rate system, in which the exchange rate is determined exclusively by the interbank foreign exchange market under the Willing Buyer, Willing Seller framework.
“For clarity, ‘market-determined rate’ simply means a rate determined on the interbank foreign exchange market by banks. This is the rate that should be used to guide the pricing of all other goods and services in the economy,” Mushayavanhu said.
“No other business entity outside the interbank market should determine the exchange rate.”
He further explained that the 5% trading margin, which was previously communicated in the Interbank Foreign Exchange Trading Guidelines, only applied to setting the initial exchange rate when the Zimbabwe Gold (ZWG) currency was introduced in February 2025.
Mushayavanhu also clarified that banks are allowed to resell foreign currency purchased from willing sellers—including the RBZ—at a margin aligned with international best practices.
The RBZ’s latest intervention seeks to curb speculative pricing and maintain exchange rate stability in the economy amid ongoing monetary reforms.
