Before you start

Passport and valid permit
Proof of Chitungwiza address
Employer letter
Passport photographs

Step-by-step

1
Register EcoCash on day one
Agents are on every corner here and bank branches are not. EcoCash handles kombi fares, market purchases, rent to a small landlord and splitting anything. The ZiG and USD wallets are separate — check which one you have been paid into.
Mobile appWho: You
2
Open a foreign currency account when you can get to a branch
The RBZ's guidelines set out an individual FCA funded with salaries, remittances, donations and foreign currency cash deposits. This is where a dollar salary belongs. Expect to do it at Makoni or in Harare.
In personWho: You
3
Open the local-currency account alongside it
Chitungwiza Municipality rates and anything billed in ZiG are easier from a ZWG account. Ask for both at the same appointment so you only make the trip once.
In personWho: You
4
Carry small, clean US notes
The national shortage of low-denomination US bills is sharper in a low-income city, and torn or heavily marked notes are refused. Change from a twenty will very often come back as ZiG. This is the single most practical piece of financial preparation for Chitungwiza.
In personWho: You
5
Keep cash for the commute
Kombi fares are cash or mobile money, never card, and rank marshals will not wait while you work out a payment. Start the day with the fare in small notes.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Valid permit
Proof of Chitungwiza address
Employer letter
Passport photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

Here, mobile money is not a convenience — it is the banking system.

Branch coverage in Chitungwiza is thin relative to a population of 371,000, and agents are everywhere. Treat EcoCash as your primary payment rail from the first day and the bank account as the place your salary rests, which is the reverse of how a newcomer usually thinks about it.

Source: community-reported, consistently

Small clean US notes matter more in a low-income city than a rich one.

Where the average transaction is a dollar or two, the absence of small denominations bites constantly. A twenty is close to useless at a market stall. Bring singles and fives, in good condition, and you cannot get them once you are inside the country.

Source: community-reported, consistently

The central bank's own account definition names remittances alongside salaries.

The RBZ's FCA category explicitly contemplates diaspora remittances funding an individual account. In a city with heavy emigration that is the ordinary case, not the exception, and it is worth setting the receiving channel up properly rather than defaulting to whatever a relative already uses.

Source: RBZ Foreign Exchange Guidelines FXD5, March 2026

Electronic payment is taxed and cash is not.

The transfer tax applies to money moved electronically. As a share of a Chitungwiza income that is more noticeable than it is in Borrowdale, and it is part of why so much of the local economy stays in cash.

Source: ZIMRA — Intermediated Money Transfer Tax

Common mistakes to avoid

Waiting for a bank account before setting up mobile money — the mobile money is the urgent one.
Arriving with only large or damaged US notes.
Expecting card acceptance at markets, kombis or small landlords.
Assuming your ZiG wallet balance is spendable where a USD price is quoted.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

Make it your personal checklist

Globe Quest turns this into a tracked, AI-personalized plan for Chitungwiza — timed to your move date, with reminders so nothing slips. Free to start.