RBZ Plans Crackdown On "Idle Cash" Hoarded In Deposit Boxes
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) is planning a crackdown on businesses and individuals hoarding money in cash deposit boxes, whether in banks, homes, or business premises.
In an interview with The Herald, Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) director-general Oliver Chiperesa confirmed the upcoming blitz, saying millions of dollars are sitting idle in deposit boxes, depriving the economy of much-needed cash for daily transactions. Said Chiperesa:
You may recall that during the presentation of his 2025 Monetary Policy Statement, the RBZ Governor mentioned that businesses and individuals, especially manufacturers and informal retailers, were hoarding millions of dollars in their cash deposit boxes. This is depriving the economy of the much-needed liquidity.
We are currently working on the regulations to ensure that we conduct this blitz within the confines of the law. Normally, cash deposit boxes are used to keep important documents, but the current trend is that they are being used to store large sums of money outside the banking system, which is illegal according to the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
We want to encourage growth and ensure that all transactions are accounted for in line with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism regulations.
We were removed from the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) grey list because of the clean flow of money in our economy, and we want to maintain that achievement to support economic growth through attracting Foreign Direct Investment.
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