#BreakingNews: Steward Bank Hangs MasterCard

Zimbabwe’s prevailing cash crisis has escalated, with queues noticeable at many banking halls in Harare, a survey done by Techunzipped can show.

The governments last year introduced bond notes and it seems to be worsening the country cash crisis and causing panic withdrawals from banks, with nervous Zimbabweans overwhelming financial institutions in their anxious bid to take out all their monies by all means possible.

Due to the cash crisis in Zimbabwe, Steward Bank has suspended Mastercard payments. You will be able to load your MasterCard as long as you bring hard cash (US Dollars).

“We regret to advise you that, due to the prevailing foreign currency shortages, the bank has, with immediate effect, withdrawn limits on the following cards, MasterCard Titanium, MasterCard Standard Debit and MasterCard Diaspora Cards,” the bank said in a Statement.

“Customers who still wish to use their cards abroad will be required to pre-fund their cards in USD or via Diaspora Remittances (for Diaspora Accounts) up to the $10000 regulatory monthly limit. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused by this variation which unfortunately is beyond our control”.

The main reason why the cash situation is taking longer to solve is that solutions to address it are premised on incorrect assumptions.

The government has criticised unnecessary spending, saying foreign currency should be used for key imports such as electricity, medicine, and raw materials.