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Practical · 7 min read

Money in Tanzania: shillings, dollars, cards and cash

What works in Arusha, and what to carry into the parks.

Active Kili Top · Arusha · Updated 3 October 2026
Tanzanian shilling banknotes of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 shillings
Tanzanian shillings, the notes you will use in town.

Money in Tanzania used to be simple for a visitor: you brought US dollars and paid for nearly everything with them. That advice is now out of date. In 2025 the government made it an offence to price or accept payment for goods and services inside the country in anything but Tanzanian shillings, with defined exceptions for tourism. Dollars are still the currency to bring. What has changed is what you do with them when you arrive.

This guide explains the two currencies, what the rule means in practice, which dollar notes are refused, and where cards and cash machines work. It is written from Arusha, where almost every northern safari begins, and it follows the money out to the parks, where there are no banks at all. The short answers are on our questions page. We do not quote an exchange rate, because rates move from week to week. Check a live rate before you travel.

The short answer

Tanzania’s currency is the Tanzanian shilling. Bring US dollars in clean notes dated 2009 or later and change some into shillings at a bank or bureau de change, because since 2025 prices and payments inside the country must be in shillings. Cards work in Arusha and at larger lodges. There are no ATMs in the parks.

At a glance: money in Tanzania, and what works where

Machines run out of cash and networks drop. Never rely on a single card or a single machine.
WhereCash machinesCardsCarry
Arusha and MoshiBank ATMs, which issue shillingsHotels, larger restaurants and shopsShillings for taxis, markets and cafes
KaratuBank ATMs in the townSome lodgesTop up shillings here before the parks
Serengeti, Ngorongoro, TarangireNoneSome lodges and camps, when the signal holdsCash for tips, drinks and crafts
KilimanjaroNone on the mountainNone on the mountainTips for the crew, counted out beforehand
ZanzibarIn Stone Town; few elsewhereLarger hotelsShillings for small restaurants and taxis
Next: Shilling and dollar ↓Contents ↑

The Tanzanian shilling and the US dollar

The Tanzanian shilling is the country’s legal tender, written TZS or TSh. The largest note is 10,000 shillings, followed by 5,000, 2,000 and 1,000, with coins below that. Because the largest note is worth only a few dollars, any real sum is a thick stack of paper. This is normal, and it is why a money belt is less use here than a zipped pocket and an envelope in your bag.

The US dollar is the second currency of the tourist trade. Safaris and climbs are quoted in dollars, the visa and the entry insurance are priced in dollars, and tips have long been given in dollars. The British government’s travel advice still describes dollars as widely accepted in tourist areas. Euros and pounds can be changed at banks and bureaux in Arusha, though less readily than dollars, and are little use as cash outside town.

So bring dollars as your reserve and expect to spend shillings day to day. You cannot easily buy shillings before you leave home, and there is no need to. Change money or use a cash machine after you arrive. If you have a free day at the start, a walk through the city of Arusha passes several banks, and it is a good moment to get small notes, which matter more than you would think.

Next: Paying in dollars ↓Contents ↑

Can you pay in US dollars in Tanzania? The 2025 rule

The rule is set out in a Bank of Tanzania public notice dated 2 May 2025. It announces the Regulations on the Use of Foreign Currency, 2025, published as Government Notice No. 198 on 28 March 2025. Under them, pricing and payment for all goods and services within the country must be in Tanzanian shillings. The notice says it is an offence to quote prices in foreign currency, to accept payment in it, or to refuse payment in shillings.

The same notice addresses visitors directly. Foreigners, including tourists, are required to exchange foreign currency through commercial banks or bureaux de change, and they may continue to pay with bank cards and other digital methods. A hotel that prices its bar in dollars and takes your dollar notes is on the wrong side of this, however common it remains. The Bank of Tanzania has licensed a number of larger hotels to run their own bureaux de change for that reason.

Tourism has two defined exceptions. The Ministry of Finance clarified in May 2025 that a business may quote and be paid in foreign currency for services sold to non-residents and arranged from outside Tanzania, which covers a safari booked from home. In July 2025 the Bank of Tanzania confirmed to the Tanzania Association of Tour Operators that operators may pay in dollars on behalf of non-resident tourists. In practice your safari is still priced in dollars, and we pay the park fees, itemised on your quote.

Next: Which dollar notes ↓Contents ↑

Which US dollar notes are accepted in Tanzania

Not every dollar note is accepted. Banks, bureaux and businesses across Tanzania commonly refuse notes printed before 2009, and many refuse notes that are torn, marked or heavily creased. This is a widely applied practice. We have not found it written into any published law, and it has tightened over time, but it is consistent enough to plan around. The series year is printed on the face of each note. Check every note before you pack it.

Ask your bank at home for new notes, and mention the reason. Bring a mix. Large notes, fifties and hundreds, usually get a better rate at a bureau de change than small ones. Small notes, ones, fives and tens, are what you need for tips if you give them in dollars. Tips in shillings are always acceptable, and shillings are the currency the regulations favour. The amounts are a subject of their own, covered in tipping in Tanzania.

Change money only at a bank or a licensed bureau de change, and keep the receipt. People who offer a better rate in the street are not offering a better rate. Count the shillings at the counter before you leave it. Carry your cash in more than one place, and use the safe in your room where there is one. None of this is special to Tanzania. It is the ordinary care of travelling with more cash than you would carry at home.

Next: ATMs and cards ↓Contents ↑

ATMs and credit cards in Arusha and beyond

Arusha and Moshi have bank cash machines that accept foreign Visa and Mastercard debit cards and pay out in shillings. The British travel advice notes that machines sometimes break down or run out of money, and recommends using those inside a bank branch to reduce the risk of card cloning. Each machine limits how much it will give in one withdrawal, and your own bank may add a fee, so a few larger withdrawals cost less than many small ones.

Cards are accepted at most Arusha hotels, at larger restaurants and shops, and at many lodges. Visa and Mastercard are the two that work. A surcharge of a few per cent is common, so ask before you hand the card over. If the terminal offers to charge you in your home currency, choose shillings, because the terminal’s own conversion is rarely in your favour. Tell your bank you are travelling, and bring a second card from a different bank.

Outside the towns the picture changes quickly. Karatu, on the road to Ngorongoro, has bank machines and is the last sensible place to draw cash on the northern circuit. Beyond the park gates there are none. Some camps take cards, but the terminal depends on a mobile signal that comes and goes. On Zanzibar the machines are in Stone Town, so draw cash there before heading to the beaches. Assume that anything you will need in the bush has to travel with you.

Next: Cash for the parks ↓Contents ↑

How much cash to carry into the parks

On a private safari with us, the large costs are already paid: the vehicle, the guide, your accommodation, your meals and the park fees. What is left is small. Tips for your guide and for camp staff are the main item. Drinks at camps that do not include them, laundry where it is charged, a craft stall on the road and perhaps a village visit make up the rest. Your quote lists what is included, so you can see what is not.

We will not give a figure for how much to bring, because it depends on the length of your trip, the camps and how you tip. A sensible method is to work it out by day. Decide your tipping budget first, add a modest daily sum for drinks and small purchases, and then add a reserve you do not expect to spend. Bring more than you think you need. The reserve comes home with you if nothing goes wrong.

Put tips in envelopes before you leave Arusha, one for the guide and one for each camp’s staff box, so you are not counting notes at a farewell. On Kilimanjaro the same applies to the crew: there is nowhere to find cash above the gate. Optional extras such as a balloon flight are best paid for in advance with your safari. If something is unclear, ask us when you plan your trip, and read the entry costs in visas, vaccinations and yellow fever.

Next: Questions ↓Contents ↑

Questions people ask

The Tanzanian shilling, written TZS or TSh. The largest note is 10,000 shillings. US dollars are widely used in tourism for quoting safaris, visas and tips, but since 2025 prices and payments for goods and services inside the country are required to be in shillings.

You should bring them, and then change them. A Bank of Tanzania notice of May 2025 requires pricing and payment inside the country to be in shillings, and tells tourists to exchange foreign currency at banks or bureaux de change. Safaris booked from abroad may still be quoted and paid in dollars.

Often not. Notes printed before 2009 are commonly refused by banks, bureaux and businesses, as are torn or marked notes. It is a practice and not a published law, but it is applied widely. Bring clean notes with a series year of 2009 or later.

No. There are no cash machines inside the Serengeti, the Ngorongoro Conservation Area or Tarangire. Draw cash in Arusha, or in Karatu on the way to Ngorongoro. Some lodges and camps accept cards, but the connection is unreliable, so carry what you expect to need.

In Arusha, Moshi, Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar’s larger hotels, usually yes, with Visa or Mastercard. A surcharge of a few per cent is common. In the parks and at smaller camps, assume not. A card is a useful back-up but it does not replace cash for tips and small purchases.

There is no need. Tanzanian shillings are hard to buy abroad. Bring US dollars in clean recent notes and change some at a bank or licensed bureau de change in Arusha, or draw shillings from a bank cash machine with a debit card. Keep the exchange receipt.

Enough for tips, drinks and small purchases, plus a reserve. The safari itself, with park fees, is normally paid in advance. Work out a tipping budget for your guide and camp staff first, add a daily amount for extras, and bring more than that total.

Last updated 3 October 2026

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