Best Bitcoin Exchange for Guinea-Bissau
Although many sights in the cities were damaged by the civil war, only the nature in Guinea-Bissau is worth a trip. The Bijago archipelago is one of the idyllic places with its white sandy beaches. Under the palm trees you can relax and with a little luck you can also see hippos. The Cantanhez Forest is the ideal place to observe birds, elephants and chimpanzees in their natural environment. These and other places worth seeing await the visitor in Guinea-Bissau.
If you plan your trip to the country on the African west coast, you will have to apply for a visa and prepare your travel budget. The following article tells you which means of payment are recommended and whether one can withdraw money in Guinea-Bissau.
CFA-Franc BCEAO (XOF) – the local currency
Guinea-Bissau Overview CFA franc banknotesIn Guinea-Bissau, the national currency and official currency of the CFA franc BCEAO is divided into 100 centimes. CFA francs are available in coins and banknotes. The denominations are shown in the table below:
- Coins: 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 250, 500 CFA francs
- Notes: 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 CFA francs
The national currency may not be imported or exported. Foreign currency, on the other hand, may be imported without restriction, but is subject to declaration. The export of foreign currency is only possible up to the amount declared upon import.
Changing money in Guinea-Bissau
A change into the national currency can be made directly in Guinea-Bissau. It is not necessary to exchange the CFA Franc BCEAO at your house bank before the start of the journey. It is generally advisable to take the required amount of cash with you for the entire duration of your trip when travelling to Guinea-Bissau, as there are no ATMs in the country.
Euro and US Dollar can be exchanged without problems, but should only be changed as needed. A return exchange is possible within the countries that have the CFA franc BCEAO as their national currency, but with high exchange rate losses. Exchange options are available in official exchange offices or banks.
Banks are usually open on weekdays from 08:00 to 12:00 and from 15:00 to 18:00. If you need more cash than planned in advance, you can also send money via Western Union.
Cashing traveller’s cheques in Guinea-Bissau
Traveler’s cheques are only recommended to a limited extent. On the one hand, the means of payment experiences a worldwide return, on the other hand it is difficult to cash traveller’s cheques in Guinea-Bissau. In addition, it can only be cashed in some banks in the capital. Please note that there is a fee when exchanging cheques. However, if you do not want to do without traveller’s cheques as an additional means of payment, these should best be made out in US dollars or euros.
Cashless payment in Guinea-Bissau
Although cashless payment is practical, credit cards are only accepted in a few places in Guinea-Bissau. Mainly in the big hotels of the capital Bissau, payment can be done with the credit card, otherwise the cash payment is preferred. Before using the credit card as a means of payment, one should know that a foreign assignment fee between 1 and 4 % is charged for this. In order to find out the exact amount for the foreign assignment fee, it is best to contact your credit card company. But even a glance at the contract documents is enough to find out the percentage surcharge.
Withdrawing money in Guinea-Bissau with an EC card
Unfortunately, it is not possible to replenish the travel funds using the EC card in Guinea-Bissau. There are no ATMs in the whole country where you can withdraw money with the EC card. It is therefore important that you have sufficient cash in your travel kitty when planning your trip. If there is still a shortage of cash, you can have money sent to Guinea-Bissau via Western Union.
The EC card is not completely useless at least during the travel preparation, because with it money can also be withdrawn up to the last minute of the departure, even at the airport. One should consider here only that often a fee becomes due with the use of a non-bank ATM. Depending on the bank, this fee is up to 10 euros. Worldwide completely free of charge, however, you can withdraw with a travel credit card.
Withdraw money in Guinea-Bissau by credit card
It is also not possible to withdraw money with a credit card in Guinea-Bissau because there are no ATMs. Therefore, it is important to carry enough cash in your travel cash to avoid payment difficulties. Just like the EC card, the credit card can also be helpful in preparing the trip, as it can be used to withdraw money free of charge from any ATM.
If you have a credit card from the following list, you can even withdraw money worldwide free of charge. The listed banks offer such a credit card free of charge. In general, a credit card is a sensible extension for every travel fund, because it is often still accepted where the EC card is no longer used.
After submitting the application, you should expect a processing time of up to two weeks until the new credit card actually arrives at home. The card will be sent separately from the corresponding PIN and as soon as both are available, the credit card can be used to withdraw money immediately.
Security when withdrawing money in Guinea-Bissau
EC and credit cards cannot be used to withdraw money, but you should also be no less careful with ATMs at home. The concealed entry of the PIN is actually one of the measures that should be common. If no privacy screen is pre-installed above the keypad, the hand can also be held over it during the entry. If you also check your statements regularly, you will quickly notice irregularities in the account movements. In these cases, and even if the EC or credit card is stolen or lost, the card should be blocked immediately. To do this, you should contact the blocking emergency number directly via the following link.