Madagascar Ariary
Get ready for your trip to Madagascar. Order your Malagasy ariary at Manor FX today. Our great exchange rates mean you'll have more MGA cash to spend. Have your Malagasy Ariary banknotes delivered securely to your home or office, or pick them up from the Manor FX bureau near Heathrow.
Manor FX offers fast delivery times and a fuss-free online ordering process for your Malagasy ariary travel money.
Travel advise: payments in Madagascar
Jet off well-informed to Madagascar. Here are some handy facts about cash and card payments in Madagascar.
Credit and debit card payments are not commonly accepted in Madagascar, except in the upscale tourist hotels and luxury boutiques in Antananarivo. The few vendors that do accept credit and debit card payments may charge as much as 5% to 8% for them.
Cash payments are very much the norm in Madagascar. If you want to pay by card in Madagascar the trader will point you to the nearest ATM.
Be aware of currency conversion fees: British banks may charge heavily for international card payments and ATM withdrawals in Madagascar. In addition, your bank's MGA to GBP exchange rate may be dramatically bad. This is how banks make money. Before using your bank card for payments in Madagascar or anwyere in East Africa, it's certainly a good idea to contact your bank. This will avoid your card becoming blocked due to international transactions that your bank may find suspicious.
We recommend that you take some Malagasy Ariary cash with you on your trip to Madagascar, especially if it's your first visit to the country. That way you'll have time to change your Pounds or Euros into Ariaries away from Antananarivo international airport, where there have been reports of fraud at the exchange offices.
Travellers are allowed to import up to 400,000 MGA per person into Madagascar. For buying Ariary at local money changers in Madagascar, the Euro is the preferred currency, but Pounds and USD will also be accepted.
Cash is a must-have payment method in Madagascar. Try to stock up on lower denomination banknotes as traders won't always be able to give change to a large banknote. Bargaining is commonly used, especially at local markets such as Analakely market in Antananarivo.
For a coffee in a cafe in Antananarivo you can expect to pay around 5000 MGA. A three-course meal in a mid-range restaurant is expected to cost around 30,000 MGA per person.
Prices in Madagascar are generally much lower than prices in the UK, especially for day to day essentials and food.
Tipping in Madagascar is common when you are a tourist and you receive a bill, for example in a restaurant. In that case it's normal to add 10% on top, unless a service charge was already included. Always make sure to tip in cash.
When no bill is involved, tipping is not usually done. Prices are agreed beforehand, often by bargaining, for example with tour guides or local traders. It's not expected to add extra money to the bargained price, it can even cause confusion.
Banknotes in Madagascar
Two types of banknotes circulate alongside each other: The 2017 series and the 2003-2014 series, which has the value in both Malagasy Ariary and Malagasy francs, the country's previous currency. The Ariary replaced the Franc in 2005, at a rate of 1 ariary to 5 francs.
Make sure not to accept Malagasy franc banknotes as they are no longer valid.
The Malagasy Ariary banknotes in circulation are 100, 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 MGA. All current MGA banknotes are issued by the Banky Foiben’i Madagasikara.
Coins in Madagascar
Malagasy coins range from 1 Ariary to 50 Ariarys. If you encounter franc coins, don't accept them, they are no longer valid.
Madagascar's currency import and export regulations
Each passenger can take up to 400,000 Ariary into Madagascar, and an unlimited amount of foreign currency.
Sums worth €7,500 EUR or more need to be declared upon arrival and when leaving the country.
Ordering Malagasy ariary online
Order Malagasy ariary online and have them delivered fast and securely to your home or office, with Royal Mail Special Delivery Guaranteed®. Or pick them up from our travel money shop near Heathrow. Click here to buy Malagasy ariary online.
Selling back Malagasy ariary
If you have Malagasy ariary to sell, follow this link to exchange Malagasy ariary to Pounds, click on 'sell currency' and select 'MGA Malagasy Ariary'. We'll pay good rates for your leftover Malagasy ariary.
