HARARE - Zimbabwe's reserve bank and the country's information ministry have been forced to deny rumours that a new national currency is being introduced.

"This has no base in fact or reality," the information ministry said in a tweet, adding, "this needs to be dismissed with the contempt it deserves."

"The country shall continue to use the multi-currency system," the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe confirmed.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe would like to urge members of the public to dismiss, with utmost contempt, claims being circulated on social media regarding the introduction of a new Zimbabwe currency. The country shall continue to use the multi-currency system.

Bond notes, which can only be traded in Zimbabwe, were introduced in 2016. They were brought in because of a shortage of US dollars and South African rand - the main currencies in daily use after rampant inflation killed off the old Zimbabwean dollar in 2009.

But inflation means that bond notes are losing their value - and many people prefer to US dollars or EcoCash, a mobile phone payment system.(FA)