Nakfa - Eritrean currency

The national currency of Eritrea is the Nakfa. It was introduced in 1998 and has been named after the town of Nacfa, the town in the Sahel mountains that served as the headquarters of the EPLF during Eritrea's armed struggle against Ethiopian occupation, and so both Nakfa's became a symbol of Eritrea's hard-fought-for independence.

The Eritrean Nakfa is issued in notes with denominations of 100, 50, 10, 5 and 1 Nakfa. They were designed by a black American, Clarence Holbert, and printed by Giesecke & Devrient in Germany. One side of the notes depicts the various ethnic groups in Eritrea, while the reverse side has typical scenes from various parts of the country. Coins are 100 cents, 50, 25, 10, 5 and 1 cent depicting animals native to Eritrea.

The Commercial and the Housing bank provide exchange services for various currencies, but many people preferred the shorter lines and better rates provided by the small (but official) exchange offices. Unfortunately they have been closed by the Eritrean authorities. The only one left is the government owned Himbol Exchange.

There is a lot of unofficial moneychangers around the post office and on Harnet Avenue. Do not attempt to change currency on the streets, since it is not allowed. if you do indulge, you're taking a big risk for a small gain. The moral argument against using the black market is that you are robbing the government of Eritrea of valuable hard currency in order to make your cheap holiday even cheaper.

On January 1, 2016 the National Bank of Eritrea introduced new Nakfa banknotes (legal notice No. 124/2015). The conversion operation had no effect on the value of the Nakfa, as the exchange (end date December 31 2016) was on a one-to-one basis. The measure aimed to make the large sums of Nakfas that circulate outside of the formal economy (informal foreign currency exchange, money laundering, counterfeiting, human trafficking, and contraband purposes) virtualy worthless. New Nakfa notes may be identified by the date of issue 24.05.2015. With the exception of 100 Nakfa banknotes, bearing the date of issue 24.5.2011. All the old Nakfa notes only have only collector value after January 1, 2016.

Credit cards are rarely used in banking transactions in Eritrea, and are accepted in some major Eritrean hotels. Airlines. Major travel agencies also accept credit cards. A commission of up to 5% will be charged, so check in advance.

Exchange rates as per 07-02-2017
Foreign currency	Commercial Bank of Eritrea / Himbol
Foreign currency	Buy rate	Sell rate
US $	15.0000	15.7500
Euro	16.1040	16.7402
GB Pound	18.7158	19.4601
Swiss Franc	15.0829	15.6745
Canadian dollar	11.5127	11.9575
Saudi Rial	4.0000	4.1600
Swedish Kr.	1.7030	1.7680
Norwegian Kr.	1.8183	1.8882
Danish Kr.	2.1653	2.2508
Abudhabi Dirham	4.0834	4.2468
Japanese Yen	0.1334	0.1388
Australian Dollar	11.4824	11.9302
Russian Ruble	0.2549	0.2554

Source: International Banking Department
Housing and Commercebank Asmara Eritrea


Triptych portrait of three children of Eritrea's nine nationalities	Pre liberation bush school in the shade of the trees

Triptych portrait of three children of Eritrea's nine nationalities	Cattle grazing under a giant Sycamore tree near Segeneiti.

Triptych portrait of three young women of Eritrea's nine nationalities	Eritrean railway Russian built truck placed on rail wheels hauling box cars (crossing the Obel river bridge at Dogali near Massawa)

Triptych portrait of three young women of Eritrea's nine nationalities	Three agricultural scenes (camel ploughing, woman harvesting, tractor)

Triptych portrait of three young women of Eritrea's nine nationalities	Freighter ships at Massawa port of Eritrea

Triptych portrait of three young women of Eritrea's nine nationalities	Farmer with oxen ploughing the fields

There are five coins, the 1, 5, 10, 25, and 100 cents coin, struck in a nickel alloy. These coins are the first coins issued for circulation in 1997 by Eritrea since it gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after a 30 year independence struggle. The common reverse shows fighters raising the Eritrean flag, the date 1991 and the legend Liberty, Equality and Justice. Featured on the front of the coins are six different animals native to Eritrea. The 1 cent shows an Ibex, the 5 cents shows a Leopard on log, the 10 cent pictures an Ostrich, the 25 cents shows a Grevy's Zebra, the 50 cents shows a Gazelle, and the 100 cent features an Elephant and her calf. Eritrean currency through the ages > > >