Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

Hi,

I understand Mozambique currency is non-convertable and cannot be
removed from the country. (Can't be exchanged outside the country
either).

How heavily is this enforced? Will taking a few coins as a souvenir be
okay?

Will they get upset if they see I have coins from other countries I've
been to on my trip?

Thanks,
S.

Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:34:37 -0700 (PDT), Sapphyre
wrote:

Hi,

I understand Mozambique currency is non-convertable and cannot be
removed from the country. (Can't be exchanged outside the country
either).

How heavily is this enforced? Will taking a few coins as a souvenir be
okay?

Will they get upset if they see I have coins from other countries I've
been to on my trip?

Thanks,
S.

Sapphyre,

I have never had ANY hassles with the Mozambiquan authorities about
taking money in or out of Mozambique and I've travelled there many,
many, many times. There's certainly NO problem with taking out a few
notes or coins. No-on has ever searched me, or even asked about
currency. I have a few hundred Meticais on my car dashboard, and no
Mozambiquan has ever queried it.

While it is technically illegal to change money informally in
Mozambique, it goes on everywhere. Be careful at the borders because
those money touts will skin you alive. They're SO quick with their
arithmetic and sleight of hand that you'll lose half your money. If
you want to change money, rather do it a a bureau de Change in a town.
You can use the informal money changers if you wish, but keep your
wits about you and only change small manageable amounts at a time. If
you have unused Meticais before you leave, you can probably sell them
on the street for some US Dollars, or even SA Rands if you're coming
to South Africa.

You will find that Travellers Cheques are not widely accepted, or not
widely trusted. Clean, NEW (with the large presidents head), US Dollar
notes in smaller denominations ($50 and smaller) are best.

Recently there are quite a lot of ATM machines in Mozambique that are
generally very reliable and they dispense Meticais at the ruling
exchange rate. They're very convenient and safe, and found in most
major towns and cities. I haven't had any problems with my Visa and
Mastercard there, but some of my colleagues have not been able to
withdraw cash.

Enjoy Mozambique - one of the most beautiful countries on earth.

Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

Hi, Thanks for the information. I've never been to Africa before, and
certainly don't want to do anything that would land me in an African
prison, that's forsure. So it's better to ask and be safe than sorry,
right?

I read on the US Department of State site that $20 US worth of
Meticals is okay (500 Meticals). So surely a few coins and possibly
even a note or two would be a nice addition to my collection.

I will be going to South Africa after to catch a Safari in
Johannesburg.

The biggest obstacle I face with changing money is that I don't know
the current exchange rate. The Mozambique Metical rate is not posted
on Yahoo Currencies, so I'm not even sure how much I'm supposed to
get... That's probably how the money changers rip you off.

How about doing it at the airport after landing?

Cheers,
S.

On Aug 13, 4:19*am, Marc Lurie
wrote:
On Tue, 12 Aug 2008 16:34:37 -0700 (PDT), Sapphyre

wrote:
Hi,

I understand Mozambique currency is non-convertable and cannot be
removed from the country. (Can't be exchanged outside the country
either).

How heavily is this enforced? Will taking a few coins as a souvenir be
okay?

Will they get upset if they see I have coins from other countries I've
been to on my trip?

Thanks,
S.

Sapphyre,

I have never had ANY hassles with the Mozambiquan authorities about
taking money in or out of Mozambique and I've travelled there many,
many, many times. There's certainly NO problem with taking out a few
notes or coins. No-on has ever searched me, or even asked about
currency. I have a few hundred Meticais on my car dashboard, and no
Mozambiquan has ever queried it.

While it is technically illegal to change money informally in
Mozambique, it goes on everywhere. Be careful at the borders because
those money touts will skin you alive. They're SO quick with their
arithmetic and sleight of hand that you'll lose half your money. If
you want to change money, rather do it a a bureau de Change in a town.
You can use the informal money changers if you wish, but keep your
wits about you and only change small manageable amounts at a time. If
you have unused Meticais before you leave, you can probably sell them
on the street for some US Dollars, or even SA Rands if you're coming
to South Africa.

You will find that Travellers Cheques are not widely accepted, or not
widely trusted. Clean, NEW (with the large presidents head), US Dollar
notes in smaller denominations ($50 and smaller) are best.

Recently there are quite a lot of ATM machines in Mozambique that are
generally very reliable and they dispense Meticais at the ruling
exchange rate. They're very convenient and safe, and found in most
major towns and cities. I haven't had any problems with my Visa and
Mastercard there, but some of my colleagues have not been able to
withdraw cash.

Enjoy Mozambique - one of the most beautiful countries on earth.

Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

Sapphyre wrote:
The biggest obstacle I face with changing money is that I don't know
the current exchange rate. The Mozambique Metical rate is not posted
on Yahoo Currencies, so I'm not even sure how much I'm supposed to
get... That's probably how the money changers rip you off.

Have a look here for the Mozambique currency (and the others as well):
http://fxtop.com/en/historates.php3?...&btnOK=Go% 21

Regards,
Hans

Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

"Sapphyre" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I understand Mozambique currency is non-convertable and cannot be
removed from the country. (Can't be exchanged outside the country
either).

How heavily is this enforced? Will taking a few coins as a souvenir be
okay?

Will they get upset if they see I have coins from other countries I've
been to on my trip?

Such rules tend to be enforced by the banking system

There are usually no checks stopping you taking the money in and out of the
country, but you will find that nobody (official) wants to exchange it if
you do

tim

Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

On Aug 13, 1:14*pm, "tim....." wrote:
Such rules tend to be enforced by the banking system

There are usually no checks stopping you taking the money in and out of the
country, but you will find that nobody (official) wants to exchange it if
you do

tim

We're thinking about going to Angola after we do our little tour of
South Africa and Namibia. Same question, what about removing coins? I
read on the State Department site that if you try and take out
currency, it will be confinscated. I know that it's kind of difficult
to find out if you have any unless they do a thorough search, but I'm
more interested in the coins. If they screened checked baggage they'll
see them, or I take them in my carry on and they see them at the
airport. Even if I had ordinary coins from Canada (or elsewhere) they
might want to see to make sure it's not Angolan currency. Does anyone
know more about this?

And one more thing... if you're not allowed to take the coins out,
what do you do with your leftover change? I've always had a few coins
left over after being some place, so I'm sure other people do in
Angola.

Cheers,
S.

Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

As coincidence will have it, I just returned from Angola yesterday
evening.

You are not allowed to remove ANY Angolan currency at all, and the
last check they do at the airport before you leave is to ask you what
money your are carrying. If they suspect that you are carrying Kwanza
or large amounts of USD, they will search you. It's never happened to
me, and I've been into Luanda many, many times.

I smuggled a few notes out of the country for my collection once. If
you get caught out at the airport, they will confiscate the money and
you won't get a receipt (ie: they keep it for themselves).

When I go into the little office at the airport, I always tell the
policeman in my poor Portuguese "Eu nao tem dineiro nacional, so
dollares Americano." He asks how many US dollars I have, and I just
show him my wallet with a few hundred Dollars and he waves for me to
leave the office. Never offer a bribe or be intimidated by the guy. As
I say, I've never had any hassles.

Cheers,
Marc

Mozambique's Currency Laws
 

On Wed, 13 Aug 2008 05:06:38 -0700 (PDT), Sapphyre
wrote:

The biggest obstacle I face with changing money is that I don't know
the current exchange rate. The Mozambique Metical rate is not posted
on Yahoo Currencies, so I'm not even sure how much I'm supposed to
get... That's probably how the money changers rip you off.

Avoid using money changers at the border, airport, or on the streets.
In Mozambique you can always use a Bureau de Change or a bank to
change money. They won't rip you off, but they do charge a small
commission which means you will lose a few percent. The street
peddlars will rip you off completely!!!

In Zim, almost all of you spending will be in US Dollars in any case,
so don't bother about changing money. If you have to change, make sure
that it is only small amounts at a time. The country is experiencing
inflation at 2 or 3 MILLION percent, so prices change hourly. The
money you change today is virtually worthless tomorrow.

Regarding Angola... I can't see much reason for a tourist to go to
Angola unless they have specific personal reasons to visit. It's a
tough country, VERY expensive, and the bureaucracy is staggering. I
grant that there are some gorgeous places to visit on the southern
coastline, but the hassle outweighs the vista IMHO.