The decision to ban foreign currencies in Zimbabwe came as an attempt to curb black-market currency trade that's contributed to surging inflation. After the 2009 hyperinflation decimated the value of the Zimbabwean dollar, the US dollar and other foreign currencies were used as legal tender in the country. The fall in the value of the local currency has hit salaries and driven inflation to double digits. Supermarkets have increasingly set prices in US dollars following the interim money's collapse. The US dollar and other currencies such as the South African rand that have been used by Zimbabweans for a decade "shall no longer be legal tender," the government said in a statement released on June 24th. This move aims to pave the way towards ending so-called "dollarization," and laying down the foundations for a new Zimbabwean interim currency - the Real Time Gross Settlement dollar (RTGS) or "Zollar".
