Guinea-Bissau - Money

Currency & Money

Currency information:

CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine) Franc (XOF) = 100 centimes. Notes are in denominations of XOF10,000, 5,000, 2,500, 1,000 and 500. Coins are in denominations of XOF250, 100, 50, 25, 10 and 5.

Guinea-Bissau is part of the French Monetary Area. Only currency issued by the Banque des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (Bank of West African States) is valid; currency issued by the Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale (Bank of Central African States) is not. The CFA Franc is tied to the Euro.

Credit cards:

Accepted in the capital, but very limited use outside of Bissau.

Travellers cheques:

These are rarely accepted. They can sometimes be cashed at banks. There is a fixed rate of commission on all transactions.

Banking hours:

Mon-Fri 0730-1430.

Currency restriction:

There are no restrictions on the import of local currency and the import or export of foreign currency. Export of local currency is limited to CFA200,000.

Currency exchange:

US currency in small denominations is the most useful for exchange. Inter-bank fund transfers are frequently difficult and time-consuming to accomplish.

Getting around

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