Rwanda is cash based society and dollars are used mostly in safari terms. You can use a credit card, visa cards, and master card, discover cards as well as American express. But there is a surcharge of 5% per transaction. This also means that you will need cash while in Rwanda. Many of hotels, companies and the airlines will ask for dollars. Francs will be accepted in many cases instead, not always at market exchange rate. The travelers cheques are always hard to cash and are unwieldy require extra fees in banks and limited banks may also accept them in Rwanda. Forex bureaus in Rwanda will not accept traveler cheques. Find below the information about money usage in Rwanda while on safari.
The US dollars are the currency of choice since the gorilla permits are purchased and paid in dollars. The Euros and UK pounds are ok for only changing money to Rwanda currency. It’s vital that you obtain dollar bills newer than 2003 and shouldn’t have any tears or blemishes on them. This will help your exchange rate and get them accepted. It’s also important to use 50 or 100 notes to get the best exchange rate. The smaller bills will mean lesser exchange rate. You should note that the Euros and Pounds are easily exchanged but the US Dollar is the best since often lodgings and other items may be paid in US Dollars.
The forex Bureaus offer you the most efficient service and best exchange rate with the less hassle. At the banks, you may have to wait longer, there are long lines while at the forex Bureaus, and it’s usually in and out. In case you try to exchange money at the hotel where you are staying, this will be able but you will receive a lesser exchange rate and this also applies to the forex bureaus at Kigali Airport. At the forest bureaus, the dollar notes should be either 50 or 100 denominations.
You can as well exchange money at a bank and this might take a bit longer but you get a reasonable rate. You can as well use a credit card to get cash at banks, this might take some time and there are fees and more of a hassle with the identification. You can as well change your traveler cheques though contrary to suggestions from American Express traveler cheques, you will need proof of purchase and passport to prove the ownership of cheque you want to be cashed. This also means that you will receive a lower rate than cash and its quite a hassle as well as time consuming process.
In case you have a visa debit card, it’s easy to get the best rate from your country’s currency converted into Rwandan Francs. This is so convenient since you don’t have a lot of currency on you. There are some draw backs that include extra fees that you have to pay. Sometimes you might not be able to use your card in Rwanda; in Africa in case you did not notify your bank that you were traveling to Rwanda and that you would use your bank card to withdraw cash. Sometimes your bank might block with draws and that is easily rectified by going online to your bank account and then verifying that it was you who made the attempted withdraws.
Credit card usage in Rwanda; this is a bit hard to use since someone can use the possibility of stealing your card information. Cases of this have happened even in high end hotels in Rwanda and many other countries. In case you have no other choice, the first choice of credit cards is visa and the Master card. There are also some other companies that use Pesa Pal which makes it easy to use a credit card and the charges are less than using other means.
About the traveler cheque usage in Rwanda; this uses only the American Express. The rest, you will have hard time getting money or no money at all. You will pay a fee for exchanging them into Money. You will as well need a proof of purchase and the passport to show the ownership of the cheques you want to cash out. But at the end of it all, you will get a lesser exchange rate.
About the safety of money; always wear a money belt around your wait to hide the cash. Use it to keep your airline ticket and the passport. Always make copies of passport, airline tickets and anything else of important. Do not flash money in public places which can attract unwanted attention. Never pull out large amounts of money in a restaurant, bar, market; this will make you a potential target to the thieves.
Always avoid money changers; these are at the border crossings and here you will be hunted by them. Most of these are corm men who can make you think you are getting one amount yet you are getting less. Even though you are counting along them, their hands are much quicker than your eyes. Avoid using these money changers for a great peace of mind.
About buying items in Rwanda; always avoid using dollars when buying things like crafts or souvenirs. You will lose money in the process. First convert the money to francs at any forex bureau. This also includes paying for hotels that are priced in francs rather than US dollars.
About Money transfers; its best to use western Union or Money gram since you get the money, bank to bank takes much longer and it’s hard to get. Money transfer with western Union will be paid in Rwanda francs. In case you need dollars, you will get them at any forex bureau at a lower rate. You can now use Western Union and send money directly to someone using an MTN Phone in Rwanda they go and receive the money from an agent in Rwanda. The best way to send money to you is to use World Remit.