Right now our economy seems to be revolving solely on what is happening in the foreign currency markets. Shops are increasing prices because the forex they need to stock is available on a drip-feed and thus everyone else is pricing upwards or exclusively in USD. Because this is the case, keeping up with the USD rates has become a must for most if not ALL citizens.
rates.co.zw is a website that attempts to give hourly updates on the alternative markets. The site has rates for both USD’s and Rands and the conversions are handled as follows:
- Old Mutual Implied Rate (OMIR)
- USD/RTGS
- Bond/RTGS
- USD/ZAR
- ZAR/BOND
- ZAR/RTGS
The site has all the rates for these conversions but for those of us who are too lazy to actually make the calculations based on the rates, the site also has a calculator tool which enables you to actually calculate whatever conversion you want to make using the current rate. Not an earth-shattering feature but it actually removes friction, which is always welcome.
In future, there will also be graphs just adding a visual element and the ability to actually track how the market has been performing over a longer period. Cool feature again but this website comes as a result of a crisis so you would want the features to be there before the problem you are solving is no longer a problem…
The alternative markets…
The alternative market or the street market is unpredictable I think this site works best as a reference point as you may see a rate on the site and hear something slightly different on the market. It’s still a great and necessary tool in this crisis period.
Another fairly reliable reference point is Zim Bollar Index. Their Twitter account gives out similar updates and if graphs are everything to you then they are the best guys to follow. They also have a website on the way, so it will be interesting to see what they offer differently to rate.co.zw.
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“Caution – The market observations on this WEBSITE are from unofficial sources, mainly the streets of Harare and from other available sources such as Social Media.
DO NOT ASSUME THAT THE INFORMATION IS ACCURATE, CORRECT OR OFFICIAL. FOR OFFICIAL RATES, PLEASE CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL BANK OR DIRECTLY WITH THE RESERVE BANK OF ZIMBABWE.
The information displayed on this website is strictly for investigating the rumored exchange rates and keeping record of such rumors for the sole purpose of studying and researching on the impact of currency speculations on the economy.”
if they cannot guarantee accuracy, and take no responsibility for incorrect data.. then what is the point?
in any case, the official rate is 1:1 if you ask any bank or RBZ.
Is this corrupt twisted financial fiasco also happening in Venezuela? Or are we the only committed corrupt country in the World?
Who sets these rates! Still no real action of stopping the black market trading
Can you tell me how people work with these rates? ! If the web site says 150% then 1 USD * 150% = 1.5 RTGS. Why is it that people use that and then say the rtgs is 2.5 – that is 250%
150% implies a premium =100+150%=250 RTGS or whatever