The currency, in three facts
The West African CFA franc, code XOF, issued by the BCEAO and shared by the eight countries of the West African Economic and Monetary Union. It is not the same currency as the Central African CFA franc: same exchange rate, but the notes are not interchangeable.
Banknotes in circulation range from 500 to 10,000 FCFA: 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000. Remember the lowest one, it will come in handy: a 500 F note is worth about 76 euro cents.
The eco does not exist yet. You will hear about it; there are no notes or coins in circulation. Its launch is targeted for 2027, with a gradual rollout first limited to countries meeting the convergence criteria, and the timetable has already slipped several times. In 2026, you pay in CFA francs and the code is still XOF.
Mobile money, or why your card will not be enough
One figure explains the country better than any other. In Senegal, the strict bank account ownership rate is around 22%, but more than 83% of adults use financial services. The gap, some sixty percentage points, is the mobile phone: everything that goes through a phone rather than a bank card.
Two players share most of the market, and they do not work the same way.
| Wave | Orange Money | |
|---|---|---|
| Sending fees | 1% of the amount | 0.8% of the amount |
| Cash deposit | Free | — |
| Cash withdrawal | Free | Free |
| Bill payment | Free | Fee charged on most |
| Opening an account | Passport accepted for foreigners | In-store visit, active Orange SIM |
| Physical payment card | No | Yes (Kalpé) |
Wave arrived in 2018 without being backed by a telecom operator, and it shook up the market on price: free deposits, withdrawals and bill payments, 1% on transfers. Orange Money, which has been around longer, keeps the edge on electricity and water bill payments, on transfers to bank accounts and on the density of its agent network in rural areas. Across WAEMU as a whole, Orange is still ahead of Wave in transaction value, but the gap is narrowing every year.
Something few travelers know: Wave's terms and conditions explicitly accept a passport for foreigners — the national ID card is only required for Senegalese citizens. If you are staying several weeks, it is the easiest tool in the country.
The tax nobody tells you about
Since December 2025, a 0.5% government tax on money transfers has been added to operators' fees. It was introduced by Law No. 2025-17 amending the General Tax Code, and it applies to transfers, withdrawals and electronic payments.
Exempt: cash deposits, salary payments, study grants and bank transfers.
In practice, on a 5,000 FCFA Wave transfer, you pay 75 F in total: a 50 F commission and 25 F of tax. It is not much on a single transaction; it adds up over a month of everyday life. Senegal's business press is openly asking whether it risks pushing people back to cash, citing the precedents of Uganda, Ghana and Cameroon.
Bank cards and ATMs: where they work and where they don't
Visa and Mastercard work, but in a narrower range of places than you might think: hotels, supermarkets and upscale shops, mainly in Dakar, Saly and Saint-Louis.
Everywhere else, it is cash: markets, taxis, cars rapides (minibuses), small restaurants, crafts, tips. ATMs are found in the big cities — Dakar, Saint-Louis, Ziguinchor, Cap Skirring, Touba — and become rare as soon as you leave the main routes. In the Saloum delta, in Lower Casamance or in Bassari Country, take what you will need with you.
Three habits that save money:
Always decline conversion into euros at the ATM. When the screen offers to debit your account in euros rather than CFA francs, always choose CFA francs. Automatic conversion applies a rate set by the local bank, always worse than your own bank's — even though the exchange rate is fixed.
Make a few large withdrawals rather than many small ones. Fees are largely flat-rate, on both sides: the local bank and yours.
Keep small notes. Getting change for a 10,000 F note is a daily problem, with taxi drivers as at the market. Break your large notes where it is easy — supermarkets, gas stations — and keep the small ones for everything else.
Where to change money, and at what cost
Since the rate does not move, the only variable is the commission.
| Where | Commission |
|---|---|
| Official exchange offices in Dakar | 0 to 1% |
| Banks | about 2% on the sale of foreign currency |
| Hotels | Clearly unfavorable |
| Street money changers | Avoid |
Dakar's official exchange offices are competitive and fast. Official money changers also operate at the airport; be wary, however, of touts who claim to work for an exchange office when they do not.
ATM withdrawal or exchange office: the two are equivalent, as long as you decline conversion into euros. What to avoid is clear: hotels and the street.
One last point, often forgotten: do not pay your hotel in foreign currency. The rate applied will always be unfavorable to you.
Sending money to Senegal
This section is for the Senegalese diaspora, and it is worth reading even for those who have been sending money for ten years, because the market has changed a lot.
Let's start with the bad news. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the most expensive region in the world for money transfers. According to the World Bank, sending 200 dollars there costs 8.46% on average, compared with 6.36% globally. But the same source points to the way out: digital services bring that average down to 4.59%, compared with 7.30% for non-digital services. Put simply, the counter costs almost twice as much as the app.
This is no small matter at national level: diaspora remittances to Senegal reached 2,211 billion CFA francs in 2024 according to the BCEAO, about 10% of gross domestic product. More than 45% of Senegalese adults receive remittances.
What has changed, and makes everything simpler: the major money transfer operators now credit a Wave or Orange Money account in Senegal directly, using the recipient's name and number. Remitly, Sendwave, Western Union and Ria all do this. You do not need a mobile money account yourself, and your relative does not need to go to a counter: the money arrives on their phone.
Remitly in particular lists more than thirty partners in Senegal and offers three ways to receive money — bank deposit, cash pickup, mobile wallet — with two delivery speeds. We do not publish a fee schedule, because Remitly does not publish one: fees depend on the amount, the payment method and the delivery time chosen, and are shown before you confirm. Use the calculator, and be wary of the rates shown on the home page, which are promotional rates for new customers only, with a cap.
A mistake to avoid: Wise does not serve Senegal. Its official page says so in black and white — only a waiting list is offered. Several comparison sites claim otherwise and even quote Wise fees to Senegal. That is wrong. Do not waste time on it.
Finally, do not confuse Wave and Sendwave: the first is the Senegalese mobile money operator, the second an international money transfer service belonging to a different group. The names are similar; the companies are separate.
How much cash to plan for
We will not give you a typical daily budget — it depends too much on how you travel, and our trip budget page breaks it down item by item. However, here is what must be paid in cash and that you need to have on you.
The balance for your accommodation. You pay 20% online — that is our booking fee — and the balance is paid directly to the owner or the property on arrival, usually in cash. It is the largest sum to plan for, and it surprises those who have not read how booking works with us. Worth noting, since it concerns money: in the event of a cancellation, only the 20% paid online counts toward the refund — our cancellation policy sets out the deadlines.
The tourist tax. One thousand CFA francs per person per night, collected on site by the host on behalf of the government. It is not included in the displayed rates — we explain it on our page about the tourism promotion tax (TPT).
Taxis, markets, tips. And everything you do outside hotels and supermarkets.
If you live in Senegal
Two remarks that may not tell you anything new, but are worth writing down because nobody else does.
The first: the 0.5% tax applies to your withdrawals and electronic payments, not just to transfers. With everyday use of mobile money, you notice it.
The second: resident rates exist everywhere and are substantial — the Gorée ferry at 1,500 F versus 6,000 F for a non-resident, Niokolo-Koba National Park at 3,000 F versus 5,000 F, a seat on the Ziguinchor boat at 5,000 F versus 15,500 F. These are not favors, they are the rule, and you have to ask for them. On our properties, the resident discount applies automatically.