Rumours have forced Zimbabwe's reserve bank and the country's information ministry to deny rumours that a new national currency is being introduced.

"This has no base in fact or reality," the information ministry said in a tweet, adding, "this needs to be dismissed with the contempt it deserves."

"The country shall continue to use the multi-currency system," the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe confirmed.

Bond notes, which can only be traded in Zimbabwe, were introduced in 2016. They were brought in because of a shortage of US dollars and South African rand - the main currencies in daily use after rampant inflation killed off the old Zimbabwean dollar in 2009.

But inflation means that bond notes are losing their value - and many people prefer to US dollars or EcoCash, a mobile phone payment system.