Forex

Stablecoins may facilitate cross-border payments but Butchart still reckons “if you ultimately want to send fiat currency, you’d still incur cost and friction in the on- and off-ramps and forex conversion.”

“As the Fed resumes its easing cycle, previous episodes of cutting whilst the U.S. economy avoided a recession points us to a weaker USD, making the bar high to beat,” Paul Mackel, HSBC’s global head of forex research, says in a note.

The high inflation rate has partly been put down to a shortage of foreign currency - known as "forex" - in the banks.

"There is a lot happening, especially concerning about forex, unemployment," Rachel Chaguza, a 26-year-old university graduate who sells flowers, told AFP after voting.

Economists also put Malawi's current inflation problems partly down to the shortage of foreign currencies - known as "forex" - in the banks.