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Zimbabwe relaxes foreign exchange regulations for travellers
Harare Tribune
September 24, 2008

http://www.apanews.net/apa.php?page=show_article_eng&id_article=76116

Nearly two weeks after signing a peace deal in the country, Zimbabwe's central bank has relaxed foreign exchange regulations further by lifting a cap on withdrawals from foreign currency accounts (FCA's), APA learnt here Wednesday.

The relaxation means that holders of individual FCA's are no longer limited to monthly withdrawals of US$1,000 and can now take out any amount of foreign currency from their accounts.

"Please be advised that the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has advised that with immediate effect the withdrawal limit of US$1,000 on individual FCA's has been removed," a leading commercial bank said in a memorandum to customers on Wednesday.

Individual FCA holders are also no longer required to provide proof of travel when withdrawing foreign currency cash.

Until the tough exchange control regime that existed before the relaxation, holders of FCA's had to prove to the bank teller that they were travelling to a foreign country by producing air or bus tickets accompanied by stamped passports.

Other banks even demanded receipts for purchases made during the depositor's stay in a foreign country.

The new regulations do not apply to institutional account holders.

Zimbabwe has faced acute shortages of foreign currency since 2000 when most of the country's external donors withdrew economic aid in protest at the Zimbabwe government's economic and political policies.

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