The Zimbabwean dollar, ceased to be legal tender last month as the African country switches fully to the U.S. dollar. The currency suffered from hyperinflation that peaked at 500 billion percent in 2008.
Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation was considered by the International Monetary Fund as the worst for any country not at war. As means of coping, the Zimbabwean central bank printed a 100 trillion dollar note, which is the single largest known note to be printed by any central bank.
The Zimbabwean government has set aside $20 million to remove Zimbabwean dollar notes and to compensate customers who had local currency bank balances. The central bank says citizens can exchange their remaining quadrillions of local dollars for a few U.S dollars.
Bank accounts with balances of up to 175 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars – which is 175,000,000,000,000,000 – will be paid $5. Those with higher balances will get a rate of $1 to 35 quadrillion Zimbabwean dollars.
However, economists say that 90 percent of the economy has been based on the U.S. dollars since 2009, so it is expected that few people will rush to the banks to cash in old notes – especially as they could get a far better deal elsewhere.
A local can make more money selling the currency via online auction site eBay. On the site a 100 trillion Zimbabwean dollar note is a collector’s item and is fetching up to $35, compared with the 40 U.S. cents on offer from the central bank.