Uganda Currency and Money Guide

Uganda runs on the shilling and, in practice, on a phone. The gap between how residents pay and how visitors pay is wide, and closing it takes about ten minutes.

The currency

The currency is the Ugandan shilling, issued by the Bank of Uganda. It is not pegged and it is not spendable outside the country, so change or spend what you have before you leave. Note that the Ugandan, Kenyan and Tanzanian shillings are separate currencies with separate values despite the shared name, and none is legal tender in the others.

This page quotes no exchange rate. Any figure printed here would be wrong within weeks and would be believed for years. The central bank publishes the official rate.

Note also that the denominations are large. Prices in the tens of thousands are ordinary and the mental arithmetic takes a day or two to settle.

Mobile money is the payment system

Uganda is a mobile money economy at a depth that surprises most visitors. Transfers, wages, school fees, utility bills, boda fares and a great deal of retail move through phone based wallets run by the mobile networks, and the agent shopfronts are on every trading center street.

Most visitors never touch it and manage on cash. If you are staying more than a few days a local SIM and a registered wallet removes a lot of friction, and it is the difference between paying a boda fare exactly and always hunting for change.

Cards, cash, and where each stops

Kampala and Entebbe are reasonable for cards at hotels, established restaurants, supermarkets and tour operators. Outside them, assume cash, and carry small denominations: the recurring problem is not a shortage of money but a shortage of change.

Park fees and gorilla permits are a separate matter and a large one. They are substantial, they are arranged in advance through the Uganda Wildlife Authority or an operator, and they are not something to settle at a gate. Uganda's gorilla permits are notably cheaper than Rwanda's, which is one of the main reasons people choose Bwindi.