Exchanging money in Antananarivo

Things may have changed... 10 years ago, we were advised not to exchange money at Ivato Airport when arriving, but rather in shops like electronics stores. We’ll be arriving on a Friday early afternoon—I’m wondering if Malagasy banks in Tana are open on Friday afternoons and Saturdays? Do you have any tips for exchanging euros to ariary?

No one to answer my questions?

The simplest way, in my opinion, is to withdraw from an ATM using a debit card. There are more and more cards with no fees, and the exchange rate will be much better than at a bank. There are ATMs everywhere. It avoids carrying large sums in euros and skips the lines at banks.

I’m taking my bank card just in case, never for exchanging money. The card itself is fee-free, but there are commissions specific to each bank—they know that abroad. I plan to exchange some euros in Tana when I arrive, and since it’ll take me a while to get to another city after that, I want to change euros in Tana. Do exchange bureaus still exist there? Are they open on Saturdays?

There are banks in Madagascar with no fees or commissions. For example, Bmoi, MCB, and Access. As an example, my last card withdrawal gave me 4,875 AR / 1 €. It's up to you to see if you can find a better rate at exchange bureaus. Otherwise, there’s street exchange—it can go smoothly with a few precautions. The exchange bureaus will be open on Saturdays.

Thanks for your reply! The bank branches you mentioned are indeed open on Saturdays if I don’t find a better option.

Yes. At least in the morning.