ATM's and cash at Kilimanjaro Airport » Kilimanjaro Airport Transfers

Need cash? ATMs / Cash Machines are accessible 24-hours a day. Fees may apply, make sure to chequer your bank’s fee timetable and your daily withdrawal limit. If you are traveling globally. You may also want to inform your bank of your tourism plans. Here money exchange is also available.

Dealing with Lost, Damaged, Stolen, or Eaten ATM Cards:

Ah, the fear of most of us is having an ATM card lost, damaged, stolen, or eaten by an overseas machine. Well there is a little secret to dealing with this situation, should you find yourself in it — carry a second ATM card from the same bank.Several weeks to months before your journey, contact your bank and order a new ATM card.

If they inquire why then tell them that your card is slightly bent, slightly damaged, or something like that. In a week or so, a new ATM card will be mailed to you. Take this card and put a note on it: DO NOT USE. Then pack this second card separate from your existing card. It is critical that you do not use this second card for anything.Now you are overseas and your original card is lost, damaged, stolen, or eaten.

Now what? Pull out the second DO NOT USE card and put it into any ATM machine and do a transaction, such as taking out money or checking your balance. What this does is VOIDS your original card from any further use. So even if someone does come across your original card, it is now useless as the network has noted that a newer card is in use.

Different Networks

As mentioned above, the two common networks are Plus (Visa) and Cirrus (MasterCard). We recommend using an ATM card with the Plus network, simply because there are more machines. But you should be prepared with a backup plan, should the preferred network not be available. Consider visiting different banks near your home and find out what it would cost to open an account with them just to have that backup available. A safe bet is HSBC, an international bank, which is on the Cirrus network, if your primary ATM card is linked to the Plus network.

Bank Fee:

Banking fees are something that everyone tries to avoid or at least minimize and ATM withdrawal fees are no exception.On an ATM withdrawal there are two fees that you should be aware of: a Plus or Cirrus access fee and a foreign currency conversion fee. Typical access fees run about USD 5 per withdrawal, but the amount is set by your bank.

The foreign currency fee is typically 2.50-2.75% (so a withdrawal of USD 100 will cost you USD 2.50-2.75 in conversion fees).There are a few ways to minimize fees:The access fee is a cash-grab by your bank and to minimize this fee you can take larger amounts of money out at a time. This, of course, is risky if you have your money stolen.

Alternatively discuss your situation with your local bank and see if they offer an account with free Plus or Cirrus access. There likely will be a monthly fee with this account, but the fee might be paid off with just a couple of overseas withdrawals from ATMs.

The foreign conversion fee cannot be avoided. You will pay a similar fee if you convert cash at an exchange location or use your credit card (most credit cards charge 2.5%, which is hidden on your monthly statement for foreign purchases). If you cannot avoid the access fee mentioned above, then by all means use your credit card for purchases when possible as you will pay the 2.50-2.75% foreign currency exchange fee anyways.

How Much to Initially Take Out:

This is a tough question to answer and will depend a lot on the availability of ATM machines plus any restrictions on the withdrawal limit, imposed by either the ATM itself or your bank. So we do recommend the following ahead of traveling:We usually assess the amount of money we will initially need from the airport plus a few days, but it all depends on your circumstances. So give this some thought prior to visiting an ATM in the airport and know approximately what amount you will try and withdraw when you arrive.

You will likely need to think about this in your home currency and then convert it to the currency that is in use in the country you are going to visit.If given the choice, we recommend visiting an ATM within the airport secure area. This could include in the baggage and customs hall or next to the gates. This area is always more secure than outside and you have time to study the currency or split it up between travel companions or between your wallet and money belt. If you need to visit an ATM outside the secure area, then there are likely touts and others watching you and you will feel rushed.

The Passport Sticker:

This is another little secret that we recommend when traveling, especially if there even is a remote chance that you will need to visit a currency exchange location. Create a little sticker or post-it note with the exchange rates of the country you are visiting it.

If at some point during your travels you needed to use the services of a currency exchange, then you know the approximate rates and can gage if the rates offered are poor or fair. This note will also allow you to gage any back-conversion that you might need to do at the end of your trip.