An unidentified remittance company told the International Association of Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN) that up to $1.5m a day in remittances moves into Zimbabwe, which has witnessed soaring inflation. Western Union is the principal company but can only operate with the blessing of the Reserve Bank.
The rest operate on the ‘parallel’ market, meaning the financial market running at the true value of the Zimbabwean dollar, rather than the declared Government rate of exchange, which today is running at 50% of the market rate.
The parallel market has been allowed informally by the Government to function. Remittance operators sell their foreign exchange to the Reserve Bank in exchange for Zimbabwe dollars.
“I happen to know our source well, but in the present climate it is not safe to divulge the identity,” says IAMTN CEO Olga Maitland. “What is clear is that the remittance market through one way or another has been the key source of survival for many people fortunate enough to have friends and relatives outside the country to help them. Indeed it has been our experience that remittance sending tends to increase during times of internal strife, natural disaster or conflict.”