Zimbabwe's Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Electronic Funds Transfer Network Out of Service

Zimbabwe's Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Electronic Funds Transfer Network Out of Service

Zimbabwe's RTGS System Experiences Technical Challenge, Causes Banking Delays

Zimbabwe's financial system is currently facing disruptions due to a technical challenge on the service provider's network affecting the Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system. This crucial component of the country's financial infrastructure has been causing widespread delays in banking services since the morning of 18 August 2025.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) has acknowledged the issue, describing it as a technical fault impacting their network that has affected most banking systems. The exact cause of the problem remains unspecified, with neither hardware nor software issues being disclosed publicly.

As a result of this outage, key financial activities like stock market settlements and exchange rate dissemination have been halted, causing wider economic disruption. The RTGS system, which facilitates interbank payments, telegraphic transfers both domestically and cross-border, has been experiencing delays.

The good news is that the system was fully restored by 19-20 August 2025. The RBZ confirmed normal operations had resumed and assured the public that depositor funds were not compromised during the downtime. The central bank also committed to continuing improvements to ensure system stability and integrity, while highlighting the need to build more resilient financial infrastructure.

Despite the restoration of the RTGS system, the disruption has highlighted vulnerabilities in centralized systems and potentially catalysed fintech innovation. Businesses paying for products have experienced delays due to the outage, which may ultimately affect consumers as well. The slowdown in transactions has the potential to slow down the economy.

In an RTGS transfer, a bank sends instructions through the RBZ's RTGS system, which debits the sender's account and credits the recipient's account. During the outage, banks were unable to credit recipients' accounts, causing delays in transactions and potentially affecting businesses and consumers.

As of now, there is a technical challenge affecting the RBZ-operated RTGS system. No updates on the expected resolution time have been provided by the RBZ. The central bank has not committed to a specific time for resolving the problem.

[1] The Chronicle, "RTGS system back after 48-hour outage," 20 August 2025, https://www.thechronicle.co.zw/rtgs-system-back-after-48-hour-outage/

[2] The Herald, "Normal operations resume on RTGS system," 20 August 2025, https://www.herald.co.zw/normal-operations-resume-on-rtgs-system/

[3] The Financial Gazette, "RTGS outage highlights vulnerabilities in centralized systems," 19 August 2025, https://www.financialgazette.co.zw/rtgs-outage-highlights-vulnerabilities-in-centralized-systems/

[4] FBC Bank, "Public Notice: Technical Challenge Affecting RTGS System," 18 August 2025, https://www.fbc.co.zw/public-notices/technical-challenge-affecting-rtgs-system/

[5] The Standard, "RTGS outage causes banking delays," 18 August 2025, https://www.standard.co.zw/rtgs-outage-causes-banking-delays/

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