Overnight bank queues have resurfaced in Masvingo, with depositors, particularly from rural areas, being forced to sleep in queues in an effort to withdraw their money, as the cash crunch worsens. A large group of depositors, comprising of pensioners and rural-based civil servants, yesterday slept outside the People’s Own Savings Bank (POSB) banking hall in Masvingo so they could be served first the following day.
Some of the depositors said they had withdrawn the maximum daily cash limit of $100 but could not go back to their workstations before they had emptied their accounts, since it would be more expensive to come back to town again.
A depositor interviewed by NewsDay said,
I am based in the rural areas and today I only managed to get $100. I want to withdraw all my cash so that I do not come back here. It will cost me a lot in terms of bus fare and so it is better I take all my cash at once and then come back the next pay day, as I have debts to people and I cannot make transfers to their bank accounts. Some of the amounts I owe range from $10 to $20.
The development came as some banks reduced the daily withdrawal limits to between $100 and $50.
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