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increase of 66 percent from US$8,9 billion during the same period last year.
These figures were announced by the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe in its half-year monetary policy statement.
At the same time the volume of RTGS transactions increased by 35 percent to 948 207 in the period under review from 704 575 in 2010.
The RBZ said RTGS membership increased to 25 active participants, while the Cheque Clearing House membership also increased to 18 banks, following the admittance of Royal Bank.
However, during the period under review, Renaissance Merchant Bank Limited was temporarily suspended from the RTGS system following its placement under curatorship.
The upturn in the large value payment stream was generally reflective of the positive performance of the national payment systems across the board, RBZ governor Dr Gideon Gono said.
All payment streams performed remarkably well during the first half of the year, as both volumes and values have registered increases.
“The national payment systems continued to exhibit stability and resilience, during the six months ending June 2011,” he said.
In respect of the retail payment stream, electronic retail payments registered a total value of US$649 million for the six months period, compared to US$190 million recorded in the prior comparable period, representing an increase of 242 percent.
ATM values constituted 57 percent of the total retail transactions.
Cheque values for the half-year increased to US$30 million, an increase of 80 percent from the same period last year.
The corresponding volumes of transactions amounted to 122 000 compared to 68 000 for the comparable period last year.
The RBZ also noted that mobile payments have registered a marked growth in volumes since the beginning of the year due to deliberate efforts by the banking community together with mobile network operators and other relevant stakeholders to promote the use of mobile phones as a channel for payment systems.
The Reserve Bank has also called upon payment and banking sector players to work closely to increase the population of Point of Sale (POS) and other electronic payment systems in the country, and at the same time promising to bring security.
“With the revolution in the telecommunication sector, the environment for efficient electronic payments has been laid.
“In this regard, the RBZ will continue to support the establishment of new products and payment system initiatives that embrace the principle of financial inclusion.
“However, as a matter of policy and to manage risk, the bank will ensure that any payment system initiative operates through a regulated financial institution, in line with the National Payment Systems Act.
“In order to achieve the full benefits of a well functioning payment system, we urge banks and other relevant stakeholders to continue working together,” said Dr Gono.