The Central African CFA franc (XAF) is the currency of six independent states in Central Africa - Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. The currency was introduced to the previously French colonies in Equatorial Africa in 1945, replacing the French Equatorial African franc. The currency continued in use when these colonies gained their independence. Equatorial Guinea, the only former Spanish colony in the zone, adopted the CFA franc in 1984.
In several west African states the West African CFA franc (currency code XOF) is in circulation, such as Benin - West African CFA franc. The West African CFA franc is of equal value to the Central African CFA franc.
Both XAF and XOF currencies are referred to as the CFA franc.
XAF News, Forecasts and Trends
The Central African CFA franc has a fixed rate of exchange with the euro (and previously the French franc) set at 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs.
The CFA franc is characterised as a credible and stable currency, a significant virtue given the experience of most currency-issuing African nations.
The below interactive chart shows the USD to XAF exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.
Recent USD to XAF 90-day trend
ALERTS:4-DAY▼1.7% | 30-DAY LOWS |
USD/XAF at 591.48 was trading 1.4% belowAVG:599.86 with LO:573.21 and HI:615.33 (90 days). ALERTS: USD/XAF was DOWN 1.7% this 4-DAY period and also dropped to 30-DAY LOWS.
US Dollar to Central African Franc - Historical Rates
No, the Central African Franc is freely available and convertible. See guide: What is a closed currency?
Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Central African Republic
Travel money for Central African Republic
Save money and time by Ordering your Central African Franc online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick
up the XAF 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 Central African Franc otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.
Sending money to Central African Republic
When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Central African Republic you need to start with finding out the latest
Central African Franc 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).
Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Central African Republic
When sending money to Central African Republic 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 :
Open an account with a BER reviewed FX provider (id docs may be required)
You specify the local or Central African Franc amount you want to transfer
Make a local currency domestic transfer for the requested amount to the provider's bank account in your country
Once your funds are received by the provider the converted XAF amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Central African Republic.
Use our Send to Central African Franc 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 Central African Franc deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!
