From Monday next week, bank customers who held Zimbabwean dollar accounts before March 2009 and have balances up to Z$175 quadrillion will be paid a flat $5.
Zimbabwe is set to scrap its local currency from next week at a fixed exchange rate of $35,000,000,000,000,000 old dollars per the united States dollars.
President Robert Mugabe’s government will phase out the virtually worthless currency from Monday, the Central Bank announced weekend.
Anyone in the southern African country still holding Zim dollars will be forced to swap their quadrillions for a handful of U.S. ones.
The largest denomination available in the old currency is a 100 trillion dollar note. The note – now worth 40 cents – was not enough to buy a weekly bus ticket.
Zimbabwe began using the U.S. dollar and the South African Rand in 2009, after the Zimbabwean dollar was ruined by hyperinflation, which struck at 500bn percent.
The Zimbabwean dollars is in quadrillions, and it costs $35 million Zimbabwe dollars to buy an egg. If you plan to emigrate, maybe you should try for Somalia instead. At least they’re still on the charts.