Money in East Africa: cash, cards and mobile money
US dollar notes printed before 2009 are refused in many places. The continent’s most important payment method will not work with your card. How much cash to actually carry.
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Short version: bring US dollars in small, recent notes for visas, tips and permits, draw local currency from an ATM, and do not assume your card will be accepted outside hotels and lodges.
The thing about dollar bills
This catches most people out: US dollar notes with a series date before 2009 are frequently refused in Tanzania and Kenya — by banks, bureaux de change and park gates. The reason is older counterfeit series. A note your own bank hands over without comment can be worthless at Kilimanjaro airport.
What you need:
- Series 2009 or newer, 2013 or newer is safer.
- Clean and untorn. Torn notes get refused.
- Small denominations. Ones, fives, tens and twenties for tipping. Large notes often get a better rate but are useless as tips.
Other currencies help less than you would think. Some bureaux in Arusha and Nairobi will take euros or pounds at a poor rate. Visas and permits are quoted in US dollars.
Cards
ATMs work. Visa is widely accepted, Mastercard somewhat less so. You get Tanzanian or Kenyan shillings, not dollars. Expect a local machine fee on top of your own bank's foreign transaction charge; a card without foreign-currency fees saves a noticeable amount here.
In shops, usually not. Lodges, better restaurants and tour operators take cards, often with a 3 to 5 per cent surcharge. Small restaurants, markets, taxis and craft stalls: cash.
Tell your bank before you go. A blocked card on day two is an avoidable problem.
Mobile money — what you will see and cannot use
M-Pesa in Kenya, M-Pesa and Tigo Pesa in Tanzania, MTN Mobile Money in Uganda are the dominant payment method in the region. Almost every business takes them and many prefer them to cash.
For you they are effectively out of reach: you need a local SIM and usually a registration with identity documents. For two weeks that rarely pays off. It is worth knowing because you will see "Lipa na M-Pesa" everywhere, and it does not mean you.
How much cash
For a ten-day safari for two, booked all-inclusive:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tip, driver-guide | 150 – 250 US$ |
| Tip, camp staff | 160 – 240 US$ |
| Drinks, souvenirs, extras | 200 – 400 US$ |
| Visas (2 people) | 100 US$ |
| Reserve | 100 US$ |
So roughly 700 to 1,100 US dollars in cash, mostly in small notes. There are no ATMs in the camps, and the last reliable one is often in Arusha or Nairobi.
Practical notes
- Change only a little at the airport — enough for the first day. Rates in town are better.
- Keep the exchange receipt. Some banks want it to change money back.
- Local currency is hard to exchange once you leave. Spend it before you fly.
- Two cards, kept in different places. A blocked or swallowed card is hard to replace on the road.
- Do not change money on the street. The better rate is the bait.
Rates and fees move constantly. The rules on note age and denomination have been stable for years and are applied consistently.