Guinea-Bissau - West African Franc - Currency Guide

General Currency Info - West African Franc

The West Africa CFA franc (XAF) is the currency of six independent states in Western Africa - Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo.

In several central African states the Central African CFA franc (currency code XAF) is in circulation, such as Cameroon - Central African CFA franc. The Central African CFA franc is of equal value to the West African franc. Both XAF and XOF currencies are referred to as the CFA franc.

XOF News, Forecasts and Trends

The West Africa CFA franc has a fixed rate of exchange with the euro (and previously the French franc) set at 1 euro = 655.957 XOF. The XOF 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 XOF exchange rate, trend and recent alerts for the last 90 days.

U$1,000 USD
=
577,230 XOF

Converted at USD/XOF wholesale exchange rate, compare foreign transfer and spend/travel exchange rates.

Travel, Currency and Money saving tips for Guinea-Bissau

Travel money for Guinea-Bissau

Save money and time by Ordering your West African Franc online from Travelex, you get better rates and can pick up the XOF 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 West African Franc otherwise you may get much worst exchange rates.

Sending money to Guinea-Bissau

When searching around for information on how to get a good exchange rate when sending money to Guinea-Bissau you need to start with finding out the latest West African Franc exchange rate for foreign-transfers, which can be very different to the wholesale 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 in the below table.

Get a better deal for foreign transfers to Guinea-Bissau

When sending money to Guinea-Bissau 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 West African Franc 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 XOF amount will be transfered to the recipient account you specify in Guinea-Bissau.

Use the above Send to West 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 West African Franc deposited into the recipient bank account and less margins and fees kept by the banks!