DR Congo moves to ban use of dollar

Democratic Republic of Congo’s central bank said Thursday that it would ban the use of dollars and other foreign currencies for cash business dealings in the country.

Foreign currencies have gradually overtaken the use of the weak local Congo franc in recent years in stores and other places. The Congo Central Bank has tried and failed in the past to ban the use of the dollar.

The BCC said the latest ban would start in April next year.

“From April 9, 2027, no person will be authorised to carry out cash transactions in foreign currencies” and no commercial bank would be “permitted to physically import foreign currency”, said BCC governor Andre Wameso in a statement.

Transactions in foreign currencies will only be allowed “electronically” through a bank transaction, Wameso added.

The central bank said the measure aimed to “continue the fight against the risk of money laundering and terrorist financing”.

The dollar first started appearing in the local economy in the 1990s when inflation at one stage hit an annual rate of 2,000 percent.

Now, most transactions above the value of $5 are paid for in dollars. Most people have little faith in the local Congo franc which trades at about 2,300 to the dollar, down from 920 to the dollar in about 2010.

Since then the authorities have made several attempts to stop the spread of the US currency.

In 2024, the BCC ordered banks and financial institutions to configure electronic payment terminals to accept only the Congolese franc.

DR Congo, with a population of more than 100 million people, is one of the world’s poorest countries despite a huge mineral wealth that has attracted China, the United States and other countries.

AFP