Zimbabwe weddings resort to card machines for guests to swipe their gifts due to cash crunch

Wedding planners in Zimbabwe have
found a way of circumventing the
severe cash crunch the country is
currently facing—hiring card machines
to allow wedding guests to swipe their
gifts.

Zimbabwean banks have reportedly
been forced to reduce individual daily
withdrawal limits to just $30 (N9168) as
the country simply does not have
enough bank notes available.
Recent reports indicate that despite
having $6.5 billion (N1.9 trillion) in
deposits, Zimbabwe only has around
$600 million (N183.3 billion) in cash
circulating.

A wedding in Zimbabwe
Weddings have therefore been among
those affected by the cash crunch, as
guests often say they do not have bank
notes to perform the traditional
showering of newly wed couples with
money.

Although the new card-swipe method
robs weddings of some of the fun and
appears somewhat unromantic, it seems
to serve the same purpose at the end of
the day—giving money gifts to the
couples.