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, 250, 100, 50, 25, 10 and 5.

Mali 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.

Possible at main banks in Bamako, but this can be a slow process and exchange rates are often out of date.

Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are accepted in two hotels in Bamako. Cash advances on credit cards are available at only one bank in Mali, the BMCD Bank in Bamako, and only with a Visa credit card.

Can be exchanged at banks. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller’s cheques in US Dollars or Euros.

Mon-Thurs 0730-1200 and 1315-1500, Fri 0730-1230.

Date	Apr 07
$1.00=	XOF970.04
£1.00=	XOF490.73
Eur;1.00=	XOF655.96

The following items may be imported into Mali without incurring customs duty:

• 1000 cigarettes or 250 cigars or 2kg of tobacco.
• Two bottles of alcoholic beverage.
• A reasonable amount of perfume for personal use.

Note: (a) Cameras and films must be declared. An import permit is needed for sporting guns. Plants, except fruit and vegetables, need a certificate. (b) Authorisation from the National Museum in Bamako must be obtained when exporting certain Malian archaeological objects, particularly those from the Niger River Valley.