Afghanistan - Afghan Afghani - Currency Guide

General Currency Info - Afghan Afghani

The new afghani currency was announced by President Hamid Karzai on September 4, 2002, and was introduced to the market on October 8, 2002. This monetary reform was well received by the public as it was a sign of security and stability, especially the country's rebuilding effort. People also no longer had to carry many bags of money for ordinary things. It was the first time in many years that a sole currency was under the control of the central bank instead of warlords. Most old banknotes were destroyed by the end of 2002. Prior to the reissue, there were more than 15 trillion afghani in circulation after unrestrained printing under Taliban rule and during wars and occupation

AFN News, Forecasts and Trends

After depreciating during the last quarter of 2003/04, the afghani has been appreciating steadily, gaining 8 percent against the U.S. dollar between end-March 2004 and end-July 2004. This appreciation, at a time of increasing inflation, appears to reflect a greater willingness by the population to use the afghani as a medium of exchange and as a store of value. This trend appears to be attributable to the relative stability of the exchange rate since the introduction of the new currency, administrative measures aimed at promoting its use, such as the requirement that shopkeepers must price goods in afghani. Donors are increasingly making payments in afghani instead of U.S. dollars and this appears to be widely accepted.

The below interactive chart shows the USD to AFN exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.

Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Afghanistan

Carry sufficient cash in US Dollars for your visit. Credit cards are not accepted. Some ATMs in Kabul dispense dollars as well as the local currency, Afghanis. Banks are closed on Fridays, but there are ATMs in various locations in Wazir Akbar Khan and elsewhere. ATMs are located at military camps, but unless you have an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pass you will not be able to enter. Travellers’ cheques are not widely accepted and it can take a fortnight for them to clear.

Travel money for Afghanistan

Save money and time by Ordering your Afghan Afghani online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick up the AFN cash locally or even on travel day at the airport.

Another popular option is to use a Pre-paid Travel Card. Your Debit/Credit Card provider will charge you 2% from market mid-rate, but your bank may also charge an extra 3% as an “Overseas Transaction Charge” plus “Overseas ATM” fees for withdrawing cash.

For card purchases if offered a choice of currencies always select to Pay in Afghan Afghani otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.

Sending money to Afghanistan

When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Afghanistan you need to start with finding out the latest Afghan Afghani foreign-transfer exchange rate.

Then compare your bank's exchange rates to several licensed FX providers exchange rate and fees to see how much you can save (we make that calculation easy here).

How stable is the Afghan economy and financial system

In October 2003, Afghan Central Bank governor Anwar Ul-Haq Ahadi announced that Afghans should use their own Afghani currency in daily transactions rather than United States dollars or Pakistani rupees. This was in preparation for when all prices in the Afghan marketplace were to be specified in Afghani.

After depreciating during the last quarter of 2003/04, the Afghani has been appreciating steadily, gaining 8 percent against the U.S. dollar between end-March 2004 and end-July 2004. This appreciation, at a time of increasing inflation, appears to reflect a greater willingness by the population to use the Afghani as a medium of exchange and as a store of value.

This trend appears to be attributable to the relative stability of the exchange rate since the introduction of the new currency, administrative measures aimed at promoting its use, such as the requirement that shopkeepers must price goods in Afghani. Donors are increasingly making payments in Afghani instead of U.S. dollars and this appears to be widely accepted.

Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Afghanistan

When sending money to Afghanistan it’s important to compare your bank’s rates & fees with those we have negotiated with our partner money transfer providers. To get a better deal you should follow these 4 simple steps :

1. Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
2. You specify the local or Afghan Afghani amount you want to transfer
3. Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
4. Once your funds are received by the provider the converted AFN amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Afghanistan.

Use our Send to Afghan Afghani calculator to compare the exchange rates of FX specialist providers rates versus your bank's standard rates you can hopefully save around 5% and maybe more - end result is more Afghan Afghani deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!