Can Zimbabwe’s ZiG win trust and replace the US dollar?

Zimbabwe’s government is seeking wider use of the Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG), introduced in April 2024 and described by the central bank as backed by foreign-currency and precious-metal reserves, including gold. After hyperinflation, the country abandoned its currency in 2009 for a multicurrency system dominated by the US dollar, then brought back a domestic currency in 2018 without restoring public confidence. Primary school teacher Charles Mbwandarikwa, who receives about a third of his salary in ZiG, exchanges it quickly after losing his pension savings in 2009 and seeing his salary’s value fall from the equivalent of $540 to $40 in 2018. On April 7, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe introduced an upgraded series of ZiG banknotes with revised designs to bolster the currency’s credibility.