Mozambique Currency

Mozambique's currency is called Metical (plural: Meticais) and banknotes are in denominations of 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 Meticais. 1 Metical is the equivalent of 100 Centavos. Coins are provided in denominations of 50 centavos, 1, 2, 5 and 10 meticais.

Mozambican Metical Currency Code: MZN

"Mt" or "MZN" - These are the symbols you'll see alongside (some) prices / rates in Mozambique.

Currency Conversion Services: Travellers to Mozambique can quite easily convert the South African Rand, US dollar (only new-design), British Pound and Euro currencies into Meticais at bureaux de change and banks in main towns & cities, eg: Maputo. Do not rely on smaller towns for currency exchange services.

Changing Money at Exchange Bureaus: The best places to change money is at Casas de câmbio (exchange bureaus). Their operating hours are generally longer than that of banks and offer a much more competitive exchange rate (slightly higher or equivalent).

Changing Money at General Banks: If you are unable to reach an Exchange Bureau then you should be able to do an exchange at a BCI branch (recommended). Only account holders of Millennium BIM branches allow cash changes. Although most banks don't charge a commision levy for currency exchanges - do remember to confirm this prior.

Travellers Cheques: Mozambique does not accept Travellers Cheques for direct payment or exchange.

Credit Cards & ATMS: Major credit cards including MasterCard and foreign Visa cards are accepted by most upmarket hotels, lodges, restaurants, retail outlets & vehicle rental services.

Visa cards can be used to draw money out of ATMs found in Mozambique's larger towns & cities however you may struggle to draw money using MasterCard at Millennium BIM and Standard Bank machines.

If you are travelling to a rural or remote location in Mozambique then keep in mind that some shops and fuel stations can only accept cash, and may not have any ATMS (or functioning ATMs) to draw money out of - therefore cash in hand is very important. Note: Diners or American Express credit cards aren't accepted by some businesses in Mozambique.

Bank Withdrawal Limits:

General limit: Mt 3000 / USD 120BCI limit: Mt 5000 / USD 200Standard Bank limit: Mt 10,000 / USD 400

Commercial Banks: There are 18 commercial banks in Mozambique:

1. Access Bank (formerly known as Banc ABC)
2. Banco Comercial e de Investimentos (BCI)  
3. Banco Mercantil e de Investimentos (BMI)  
4. Banco Nacional de Investimentos (BNI) (National Investment Bank) 
5. Banco Tchuma  
6. Banco Terra  
7. Banco Société Générale Moçambique (SGM)  
8. Banco Unico  
9. Barclays Bank  
10. First National Bank Mozambique  
11. First Capital Bank (FCB)  
12. Millennium BIM (BIM)  
13. Moza Banco 
14. MBC Bank Mozambique (MBC)  
15. Procredit Bank  
16. Socremo Microfinance Bank  
17. Standard Bank  
18. United Bank for Africa

Banking Hours: This may vary depending on the bank / bank branch but operating hours are generally from:

08:00am → 15:30pm on Mondays to Fridays

08:00am → 13:30pm on Saturdays (or closed).

Sunday: Closed

Cash in Hand: When travelling to Mozambique via vehicle, make sure you carry a sufficient amount of cash in your local currency for border fees because not all border posts accept credit cards nor have the facilities to do an electronic transaction as such. Most border posts accept currencies from the country you're entering from however kindly contact the border authorities directly to confirm.