[Updated]:Answers To Your Burning Questions About Individual Foreign Currency Accounts (FCA)

What has just happened?

In the morning we had written the following:

If you have a foreign currency account (FCA), you can nolonger withdraw your forex to buy or pay some stuff in Zimbabwe. That means when you go to the bank to withdraw your money in the FCA you will receive Zim dollars (RTGS dollars- RTGS money, bond notes and coins).

But if you want to use the money in the FCA to pay for some stuff in a foreign country then you can make the payment from your bank account.

N.B some people are saying that they managed to withdraw forex this morning from some banks but I think soon it will be stopped.

But the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has u-turned their position and now it’s saying individuals can still withdraw their forex. But in the coming days it won’t be possible to withdraw the money as forex

So you can hurry to your bank now and take your precious forex.

What will be prices quoted in?

Since Zim Dollar is now the legal tender, all prices of anything that’s sold within Zimbabwe will be quoted in Zim Dollars (except for airline tickets). That’s why you are no longer required to withdraw forex because theoretically you can’t you can’t use in Zimbabwe since all things are bought and sold in Zim dollar.

What about receiving remittances (money sent by relatives and friends outside Zimbabwe)?

You can still receive your sent money as forex through Western Union, Moneygram and all the remittance companies.

I receive remittances through the FCA, does it mean that I’m withdrawing the money in Zim dollars and not forex?

No you can withdraw it as forex. There are two types of Nostro accounts for individuals. There is what’s called Nostro FCA and what’s called Individual Nostro FCA.

Nostro FCA is the one where you have to withdraw the money as Zim dollars.

But with Individual Nostro FCA, you can withdraw your money as forex.

If you have Nostro FCA and want to receive remittances in its best if you first talk to your bank and ask whether you can withdraw it as forex. Maybe you can or maybe they can ask you to open the Individual Nostro FCA.

What if I want to buy forex to use in a foreign country?

Yes, (theoretically) you can buy forex on the Interbank market to use in a foreign country. But you can only buy a maximum of $2000 on the Interbank market

Can you send and receive money locally between FCA accounts?

Not anymore. Actually you can only send and receive money between 2 FCA (if the transaction was done before 24 June) up until the end of this month. Afterwards it wont be possible. This is where the RBZ says it:

………existing Nostro FCA (Domestic) shall be allowed to receive deposits up to 30 June 2019 to enable account holders to deposit their cash holdings realised from trade undertaken before 24 June 2019.