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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.
