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The Country Behind the $100,000,000,000,000 Bill Hits a New Stage of Dysfunction

5 min read 24 Mar 2023, 07:17 PM IST The Wall Street Journal

Zimbabweans don’t trust local currency and there isn’t enough U.S. cash to make change, so vendors issue their own on scraps of paper

Tawanda Mutyakureva's wife receives money from a customer for a pack of scones sold early in the morning as a breakfast favourite, at a communal bakery in the Mbare Musika market in Harare, on February 16, 2023. - A sweet treat from Britain has found a second home in Zimbabwe, where despite its colonial past, mothers and chefs alike now claim it for their own.
A breakfast favourite in these parts, it can be found anywhere from high-end eateries to the market stalls of impoverished townships. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP) (AFP) — Tawanda Mutyakureva's wife receives money from a customer for a pack of scones sold early in the morning as a breakfast favourite, at a communal bakery in the Mbare Musika market in Harare, on February 16, 2023. - A sweet treat from Britain has found a second home in Zimbabwe, where despite its colonial past, mothers and chefs alike now claim it for their own. A breakfast favourite in these parts, it can be found anywhere from high-end eateries to the market stalls of impoverished townships. (Photo by Jekesai NJIKIZANA / AFP) **(AFP)**

On a recent afternoon, Rutendo Manyowa handed over a U.S. $5 bill to pay for her $3.50 order of chicken, fries and a soft drink at a popular fast-food joint in the Zimbabwean capital. But instead of a $1 bill and two quarters in change, the cashier handed Ms. Manyowa three slips of paper, bearing the restaurant’s name and the amount of money she could use to buy her next meal.