Money and duty free for Guinea-Bissau

Currency and 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 restrictions

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.

Guinea-Bissau duty free

Overview

The following goods can be imported into Guinea-Bissau without incurring customs duty:

• A reasonable quantity of tobacco products.
• A reasonable quantity of perfume in opened bottles.