Money in Uganda
 

I cannot remember what we did last time we were there (OK it was 4 yrs ago!) But I remember we had Ugandan schillings. Where to exchange........airport, hotel?? I assume the "normal" rules apply taking new US$ bills in good condition etc. Thanks for any input. :)

Why not an ATM at the airport? No need to exchange, just take out cash in schillings.

HI Jules,

On our last trip our guide stoped in a town (somewhere) and drew money out of his online banking account and exchanged with us at a very favorable rate. I do not recall the specific electronic name nor the rate he gave us.
Dick

Hello Jules39,
I recently wrote a piece on Uganda which included the following information -
CURRENCY - CREDIT CARDS, ATMs & FOREIGN EXCHANGE in UGANDA

Credit Cards
Credit cards are accepted at major lodges and shops in Uganda and can be used to make payments.
As in most African countries, Visa and MasterCard are the preferred cards.
American Express and Diners Club are NOT accepted at all.
Virtually all locations charge a 5-10% fee for using a card. Higher rates in excess of 25% can be encountered.
Debit cards are not acknowledged.
Smaller vendors do not accept credit cards; please ensure you have adequate cash to cover purchases not able to be made on credit.

ATMs
ATM’s are available in Kampala and Entebbe and a few larger towns, but are very far and few between in small towns and rural areas, and in addition are often out of service.
With this in mind, it is advisable to travel with US$, in a mixture of denominations, on your person.

Foreign Exchange
Travellers’ cheques are not widely accepted outside of Kampala.
When exchanging cash, the most acceptable foreign currency is the US$, higher denomination bills usually give a better exchange rate than smaller notes.
Please do not bring US$1 bills with you, as these will not be accepted. Commission rates are such that the value of the one dollar cash is lost on the exchange.
NOTE: US$ dated 2006 or earlier are NOT accepted in Uganda.

I hope this is helpful!
Kind Regards,
Debbi - Southern Destinations

Thank you so much Dick and Debbi!!

It was a few years ago for me too so I don't remember if we even considered exchanging at the airport or trying to use an ATM. Our guide picked us up the first day at the guesthouse we stayed in in Entebbe and drove us to an area with shops where he took us into a money exchange place. I don't imagine we exchanged that much US$ but I have a vague memory of a big stack of shillings.

I have a similar memory Leslie. We did not change very much. I am thinking we did stop at an exchange on the way out of town.

Hullo i was just in Uganda last month for my trip with a friend we had dollars and our driver Guide helped us to change in Forex in Town Kampala before we went to our lodge for a dinner and over night. He only told us that the small bills are valued below 50$ and big bills are valued high that is 50$ and 100$. the exchange rate was at 3200 Uganda shillings for 1$ for big bills.