The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe’s Financial Intelligence Unit has been on the hot trail of alleged illegal foreign currency dealers these past few weeks. In it’s quest to thwart these “saboteurs” the central bank’s arm has been a true tornado when it comes to issuing shocking orders. Last week for example they ordered all Zimbabwean banks to limit internal fund transfers to just two per day among other things. Yesterday they reversed that order.

This means that account holders in Zimbabwe are no longer limited to two transfers per day. The reversal is said to have come after Bankers Association of Zimbabwe representatives who almost certainly politely pointed how absurd the two transfers per day limit was.

The Financial Intelligence Unit has revoked a directive issued to banks limiting internal transfer amounts following representations made by the Bankers Association of Zimbabwe. On June 4, the FIU directed all banks to limit internal transfers to just two per day.

An economist with an inside track on the reversal

Proof that this was almost certainly true came in the form of SMS messages by various banks to their customers informing them that they could now do more than one internal bank transfer. The secretive FIU did not comment on how such a short-lived restriction would have defeated black market traders. In any case, casual evidence supports the claim that most people use their mobile money wallets when it comes to illegal trade.