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Presenting the policy statement last week, Dr Gono said after 75 days of negotiations, the central bank and the banking sector came up with an agreed framework expected to see substantial reduction in bank charges.
The move comes amid concerns from the public that bank charges and interest rates were not inline with international banking practice.
Dr Gono said in light of the concerns, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to chart the way forward.
Under the memorandum, depositors with monthly deposits of up to $800 will be charged a maximum of $2,50 as cash withdrawal fees; $4 account maintenance fees, $2 ATM withdrawal fees while the use of Point of Sale would attract between 10 cents and 50 cents
Among other measures, banks are now required not to levy charges on depositors.
An economist Mr Christopher Mugaga said the monetary statement sought to promote the survival of the banking industry as the Governor has not been “very harsh” on banks.
“What the Governor announced in the Monetary Policy Statement is somehow seeking to promote the survival of the banking industry.
“He has not been very harsh as evidenced in the past by a majority of the banks’ ability to meet the minimum capitalisation levels,” he said.
Mr Mugaga said the reduction of bank charges was good for the market adding that it was critical for the monetary authorities to craft policies that restore confidence in the banking sector.
He said people were not depositing money due to lack of confidence in the banking sector.
An economic commentator Mr Bradwell Mhonderwa echoed similar sentiments adding that the Monetary Policy Statement was complementing Finance Minister Tendai Biti’s 2013 national budget.
He said the monetary policy statement sought to ensure the restoration of confidence in the banking sector.
“The Monetary Policy Statement is inline with what Minister Biti announced regarding the banking sector in his budget statement.
“In the past, people have been complaining about very high interest rates and the Monetary Policy Statement has addressed this,” he said.
Recently, hundreds of millions of dollars were estimated to have been out of circulation in the banking industry largely due to high interest rates charged by banks.
In a bid to address this, Minister Biti proposed a number of measures to protect depositors from high fees charged by financial institutions.
These included exempting deposits of less than $800 from bank charges while the institutions were now obliged to pay a minimum interest of four percent on amounts of $1 000 and above held over a period of at least 30 days
The Bankers Association of Zimbabwe (BAZ) chief executive officer Mr Sij Biyam said the MoU that they signed with the central bank was all by consensus and through negotiation.
“The MoU is the agreement between the parties (BAZ and RBZ). It is not something you can say it has a force of the law because it is just an agreement.
“What the Governor presented in the monetary policy was in line with the discussions we held as parties. The MoU is a consensus agreement acceptable to both parties,” said Mr Biyam.
Online Reporter