Zimbabwe's Banks Begin Trading in New Currency

Women queue at bank to withdraw money before Zimbabwe introduces new local currency, Harare, Oct. 28, 2016.

HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe’s banks on Friday started trading a new currency with corporate clients and individuals, although interbank trading won’t begin until Monday, a banking source said.

Zimbabwe’s central bank announced on Wednesday it would scrap the official 1:1 peg between its quasi-currency bond note and the U.S. dollar, launching a new currency known as RTGS dollars.

The central bank began selling U.S. dollars to banks on Friday morning at a rate of 2.5 RTGS to the greenback, its governor said.