Benin Travel Guide

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Money & duty free for Benin

Exchange rates:

CFA Franc
C$1 = XOF655.96
€1 = XOF655.96
£1 = XOF655.96
US$1 = XOF655.96

Euro
C$1 = €0.72
£1 = €1.19
US$1 = €0.96

Currency & Money

Currency information:

CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine) Franc (XOF) = 100 centimes. Notes are in denominations of XOF10,000, 5,000, 2,000 and 1,000. Coins are in denominations of XOF500, 200, 100, 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1. Benin is part of the French Monetary Area.

Only currency issued by the Banque des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest (Bank of West African States) is valid; currency issued by the Banque des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale (Bank of Central African States) is not. The CFA Franc is tied to the Euro.

Credit cards:

American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted on a limited basis. Some banks may advance cash or visa cards.

Travellers cheques:

To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller's cheques in Euros or Pounds Sterling.

Banking hours:

Mon-Fri 0800-1100 and 1500-1700. Some banks may open on Saturday.

Currency restriction:

The import of local currency is unlimited, subject to declaration. The export of local currency is unlimited for EU residents; other nationalites must declare currency. The import of foreign currency is unlimited, subject to declaration. The export of foreign currency is limited to the equivalent of XOF100,000.

Currency exchange:

Currency can be exchanged at banks and in major hotels.

Benin duty free

The following items may be imported into Benin by persons over 15 years of age without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 25 cigars or 250g of tobacco.
• 1 bottle of wine and 1 bottle of spirits.
• 500ml of eau de toilette and 250ml of perfume.

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Visa and passport information is updated regularly and is correct at the time of publishing. You should verify critical travel information independently with the relevant embassy before you travel.