The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) published an interim update on its nationwide education and awareness campaign ahead of the rollout of the upgraded Big5ZiG banknote series scheduled for 7 April 2026. The campaign, which started on 1 March 2026 and is due to run until 31 March 2026, is intended to help the public understand the upgraded ZiG currency and its security features, with additional outreach planned through multimedia channels. As at 15 March 2026, RBZ reported that the “meet-the-people” sessions had covered 48 of 64 districts across the country (75%), reaching an estimated 610,541 participants in 1,167 urban and rural centres. Alongside the outreach, the update addressed stakeholder concerns, including that ZiG is anchored by a composite basket of foreign currency and precious metals held as reserves, that issuance of the upgraded notes is intended to be a swap against banks’ electronic balances at the RBZ and therefore demand-driven, and that existing ZiG notes will remain legal tender and co-circulate with the upgraded series. RBZ also attributed limited note and coin circulation to low uptake of ZiG accounts in remote areas and a preference for electronic payments in urban areas, and said it expects to increase physical note availability in line with its inflation objectives and money demand; it added that refusal to accept ZiG payments can be reported to the Financial Intelligence Unit, which will monitor compliance and apply penalties. RBZ indicated the outreach will continue through 31 March 2026, with ongoing public sensitisation via multimedia after the roadshows, ahead of the 7 April 2026 rollout.

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