The ouguiya is the national currency of Mauritania. It carries the ISO code MRO and UM as its local symbol.

The ouguiya, or ouqiya, derives from the Arabic wqiya, meaning ounce. It was Mauritania's first official currency, replacing the CFA franc. This currency entered circulation on June 28, 1973.

The particularity of the ouguiya

The ouguiya is a non-convertible currency, meaning you can only exchange it within Mauritania. Officially, currency controls remain in place, though in practice they are rarely enforced. Upon arrival at customs, take care to declare all your foreign currency and traveler's checks on green paper, and keep your exchange receipts. Similarly, when leaving Mauritanian territory, avoid finding yourself with more exchanged currency than you declared.

A new currency bearing the same name

On November 28, 2017, the day of the national holiday, Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz announced the imminent circulation of a new set of banknotes and coins. According to his statement, this would allow the ouguiya to reclaim its place in financial transactions, protect citizens' purchasing power, and reduce the quantity of currency in circulation.

As a result, new banknotes were put into circulation on January 1, 2018. While this new currency retains the same name, it changed its unit of scale from 10 to 1. In other words, 10 ouguiyas became 1 ouguiya. As an example, if it previously took 420 ouguiyas to equal 1 euro, today it takes just 42.

Mauritanians had one year to exchange their old banknotes. This exchange could be made at banks, Treasury counters, or Post Office branches until the end of June 2018. After this deadline, exchanges would need to be made through the Central Bank. The circulation of these new banknotes forced many banks to open exceptionally on January 1st. Furthermore, banks were required to reprogram all their software, produce new checkbooks, and reconfigure their ATMs to comply with the new currency.

How to obtain ouguiyas

You can exchange your currency at the airport, but you'll have no difficulty finding exchange offices with reasonable rates in Mauritania's major cities. Of course, as in any country, black markets exist offering favorable rates, but the risk of being scammed is very high. It is therefore preferable to use official exchange offices.

It's also worth noting that in Mauritania, credit card use is virtually non-existent, except in a few major hotels, agencies, and airlines. However, in Nouakchott, you will find ATMs where you can withdraw cash using your card.