Changing money, changing fortunes: experiences of money changers in Nkayi, Zimbabwe

Abstract

ABSTRACT Formal and informal trade and economic enterprise in Zimbabwe have in recent years become more complex due to multi-layered modes of exchange available to the public. This article examines informal currency trade complexities in Nkayi – a district in Zimbabwe – within the context of a multi-tiered monetary system. It traces the complexities through cash, mobile money and point-of-sale transactions. Contrary to the literature on financial participation in Zimbabwe that is characterized by binaries such as inclusion/exclusion and rural/urban, I argue that financial inclusion is a complex process fraught with various price regimes and complex social economies as well as some illicit activity. While inflationary pressure and cash shortages equally typify the complexity, the mitigating factor among actors is trust, which is built on often mutually binding social networks. This trust, I argue, is a key ingredient for engagements with the government, whose past actions continue to be a source of angst.