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#1
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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. |
#2
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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. |
#3
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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. |
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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 |
#5
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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 |
#6
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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. |
#7
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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 |
#8
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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. |
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