Payments and withdrawals in Madagascar

Hi everyone, We’re heading to Madagascar for a month at the end of June with the family. Our itinerary takes us to the East: Tana, Andasibe, Pangalanes, Tamatave, Mahambo, Sainte Marie; then up North to Sambava, Vohemar, and finishing in Diego Suarez. One question that’s been on our minds a lot is about money and payments. We’ve seen some discussions on this forum, but they didn’t answer all our questions.

We have two Visa credit cards from two different banks. The banks are aware of our trip and shouldn’t block the cards. One card is from the Caisse d’Épargne, which has international options that avoid fees. We’ll likely use this card as our primary, and the second one will be a backup (since the fees are higher for that one).

We’ve heard that few shops and hotels accept card payments—is that accurate?

Several hotels seem to accept wire transfers to a Euro account, as some have asked for a deposit that way. The exchange rate offered is often poor, though (e.g., 1 € = 4,500 Ar)—is this negotiable?

Of course, we’ll bring some Euros in cash to exchange, but we don’t want to carry too much money on us. If we exchange Euros at a bank, is the wait long?

Once the cash runs out, we’ll need to withdraw from ATMs, but we’ve heard it can be a challenge—ATMs max out at 400,000 Ar, and the wait at the counter can be very long if we need more. Have you observed the same?

Is there also a way to pay using smartphone apps? Someone mentioned TapTap Send or Sendwave, and I’ve also seen the Orange Money app. Is one or more of these options reliable and widely used? I imagine this could be useful for many payments and help avoid burning through the cash we withdraw too quickly.

Are we missing any other practical solutions?

Thanks for your help! Julien

Hi! ATMs give a maximum of 800,000 Ar (40 bills of 20,000) and I sometimes make two consecutive withdrawals with my Crédit Agricole card (last withdrawals in December 2024). In medium-sized towns, there’s no problem exchanging money at banks, though I’ve never understood why, for example, at Ivato airport I got 3,950 Ar for 1 €, but in Antalaha it was 3,840 Ar? In medium-sized towns, waits at ATMs are long around paydays (end of the month?) because, and this is recent, more and more civil servants are being paid into bank accounts! Be careful with exchanges outside banks (scam?) and don’t exchange too much at once because you’ll end up with a big stack of ariary bills—bulkier than the same amount in euros (200 € is about 50 bills of 20,000 Ar) and not easy to "hide"! 🙂

As for payments, apart from the Antananarivo, Nosy Be, and a few other big cities, card payment options are limited. However, the growth and spread of "Orange Money" makes some small payments easier.

hi it's best to make large withdrawals rather than several small ones (bank fees) in several banks inside, you can withdraw up to 1000 € at the exchange counter with a debit card you can also exchange cash if you have euros in cash at the same counter preferably exchange in big cities like Tana, Diego, Tamatave, Majunga, etc. as for your trip, it seems like a lot of km—I hope you’ve planned several domestic flights to Sainte-Marie, the north, and returns to Tana, of course!!

Thanks for your replies!

(@Astaffort: Yep, we're doing Sainte Marie -> Tana -> Sambava on a domestic flight)

Regarding the exchange rate @Ours81, you mentioned 1 € ~ 4000 Ar, but the official rate is currently 1 € ~ 5000 Ar. Has it changed a lot, or is it just impossible to get anywhere near the official rate when exchanging?

I looked into setting up Orange Money (since it seems like a good supplement to cash, transfers, and credit cards), but I can’t find it on the iPhone’s Apple Store. Has anyone managed to install it recently?

....... @Ours81, you mention 1 € ~ 4000 Ar, .....

Hi! That was just for reference. Today, the Malagasy central bank (Banky Foiben'i Madagasykara) sets it at 5090! For ATM withdrawals, you should get around 4990 to 5080 (or more) depending on your bank, plus any exchange fees! Since 2023, for a withdrawal of 800,000 Ar, banks apply an extra fee of 9,500 Ar (as of December 2024). 🙂

Hi! ATMs dispense a maximum of 800,000 Ar (40 bills of 20,000) and I sometimes make two consecutive withdrawals with my Crédit Agricole card (last withdrawals December 2024). In medium-sized towns, it’s no problem to exchange money at banks, though I’ve never understood why, for example, at Ivato on arrival I got 3,950 Ar for 1 €, but in Antalaha it was 3,840 Ar. In medium-sized towns, ATM lines get long around paydays (end of the month?), because more and more civil servants are now paid directly into bank accounts! Still, be careful with non-bank exchanges (scams?) and don’t change too much at once—you’ll end up with a huge stack of ariary bills, bulkier than the same amount in euros (200 € is about 50 bills of 20,000 Ar) and hard to "hide"! 😊 For payments, outside the Tana, Nosy Be, and a few big cities, card payments are limited, but the spread of Orange Money makes small payments much easier.

Hi Ours81, I’m heading to Madagascar from August 19 to October 28, planning to slowly make my way to Belo-sur-Mer, then connect to Tuléar in about three weeks. I don’t think I’ll have any way to withdraw cash along that stretch. So, I’m wondering if it’s possible to pay for simple accommodations and restaurants using Orange Money—to avoid carrying too much cash. Thanks in advance for your reply.

Hi there, You can easily pay for simple accommodations in Morondava in cash—it’s best to plan for cash payments to avoid any issues with your host!!! Maybe in Morombe there’s a bank—worth checking out!!