Zimbabwe's new currency suffers chaotic start

Zimbabwe's new gold-backed currency got off to a chaotic start with shops accepting only US dollars on Tuesday and vexed Zimbabweans queuing up outside banks for hours to access their savings.

The ZiG - short for Zimbabwe Gold - officially started trading on Monday, just days after it was announced it would replace the Zimbabwean dollar, which has tumbled in value over the past year, pushing inflation through the roof.

But many in the country were not ready for the switch.

Most banks had their systems offline on Tuesday, as they worked to transition them to ZiG.

This caused long queues outside some branches in the capital Harare, with hundreds of people waiting for hours to withdraw cash or access their funds.


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