Money and Shopping in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Money and Shopping in Democratic Republic of the Congo
The currency is the Congolese franc. Banknotes are issued in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50 centimes, 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 francs. The only Congolese bank notes currently in circulation in most places are the 50, 100, 200 and 500 franc notes. They are almost worthless, as the highest valued banknote (the 500 franc note) is worth only about US $0.90.
US dollars in denominations above $2 are much preferred to francs. In contrast, US coins and $1 and $2 US notes are considered worthless. Note that if you pay in dollars, you will get change in francs. Though francs may sometimes come in bills so old they feel like fabric, US notes must be crisp (less than 3 folds) and be printed in or after 2003, or they will not be accepted.
In some shops, the symbol FF is used to mean 1000 Francs, and 1 US Dollar is considered equivalent to 1000 Francs
There are some supermarkets in Gombe commune of Kinshasa that sell food and drinks, soap, kitchen devices and bazar: City Market, Peloustore, Kin Mart, Hasson's.
SIM cards and prepaid recharge for mobile phones are available in the street and at Ndjili airport, at a reasonable price.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Democratic Republic of the Congo
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Democratic Republic of the Congo - updated May 2024
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Democratic Republic of the Congo Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
