Best Bitcoin Exchange for Somalia
The Somalia Shilling or Somali Shilling (Somali shilin soomaali; Arabic شلن) is the currency of Somalia. It is divided into 100 Centesimi or Senti. The ISO abbreviation of the currency is SOS, the (English) currency abbreviation is So.Sh.
A Schilling is divided into 100 Centesimi or Senti. Today there are practically only 500 and 1,000 Somalia schillings in circulation. One euro currently costs around 1,900 SOS. To find out the current exchange rate before travelling to Somalia, you can also consult a currency converter on the Internet as an alternative to visiting the bank.
Somaliland in the north of the country has had its own currency since 1991, although the area has not yet been recognised as a separate state. However, the Somaliland Shilling is practically unusable beyond the borders of this area.
With the beginning of the civil war in 1991, the Somalia Shilling course collapsed. Numerous warlords printed large quantities of the national currency, so that it lost drastically in value within a few years. Today, in addition to the national currency, US dollars, euros and dirham are also used as means of payment in Somalia. Mainly in the border regions of Somalia, the currencies of neighbouring countries are increasingly used for payment, i.e. the Kenyan Shilling, the Ethiopian Birr and the Djibouti franc.
Currency exchange and other means of payment
Due to the high counterfeit rates, it is not easy to exchange cash for the local currency in Somalia. In addition, the exchange rate is subject to considerable fluctuations. The safest way is to change cash in a larger hotel. The best rates are in US dollars and euros. In general, however, it is not worth exchanging money for the Somalia Shilling, as one can pay practically everywhere in Somalia with Euro or US Dollar.
Credit cards are almost unknown in Somalia. Only in very few hotels one can pay his bill with a credit card, but as this is rather the exception than the rule, one should find out this directly during the booking. Traveler’s cheques are also largely useless in Somalia and there are no ATMs.
Coins and Notes
The coins as well as the 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 Schilling notes printed in the 1980s are practically worthless. For years, only 1000 Schilling notes have circulated, with the International Monetary Fund estimating the proportion of counterfeit money at up to 98%. Payment transactions in Somalia are therefore often made in foreign currency and in recent years have increasingly been handled via mobile payment. The dominant system is EVC Plus, a service provided by Hormuud, the leading mobile phone provider in Somalia.
History
Some two years after Somalia gained independence, the Somali Central Bank issued the first banknotes of the new Somalia Shilling currency on 15 December 1962. Until then, the Somalo of the Italian trust area Somalia in the south and the East African Schilling from the former British colonial area were still in circulation as means of payment.
After the beginning of the Somali civil war and the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, various warlords had large quantities of 500 and 1000 Schilling notes printed under their own control, which caused the value of the currency to collapse. In June 1990, around 2,000 schillings were obtained on the free market for one US dollar, in August 1991 already 7,000 schillings and in 2002 sometimes up to 25,000 schillings. By March 2006, the exchange rate had recovered to 13,400 Schilling per dollar, but by May 2008 it had fallen again to 30,000 Schilling per dollar.
Due to the chaotic currency situation, various foreign currencies are in use as means of payment in Somalia. Above all the US Dollar, but also the Euro and Dirham of the United Arab Emirates. In border regions one also encounters the currencies of neighbouring countries: Ethiopian Birr, Djibouti Franc and Kenya Shilling.
Somali emigrants returned to the country in search of investment opportunities with a considerable improvement in the local security situation. In conjunction with modest foreign investment, the inflow of funds has contributed to a substantial increase in the value of the shilling in Somalia.
By March 2014, the currency had appreciated by almost 60% against the US dollar in the last 12 months. The Somali schilling was the strongest of the 175 world currencies traded by Bloomberg and rose in the same period by almost 50 percentage points higher than the next most robust world currency.
- Country: Somalia
- Subdivision: 100 Centesimi/Senti
- ISO 4217 code: SOS
- Abbreviation: SoSh
Following the entry into force of a new federal constitution and the successful holding of elections, the Somali federal government is attempting with growing success to rebuild the state institutions and systems that fell apart during the civil war. In this context, the central bank is expected to issue new, more difficult to counterfeit banknotes and coins in the near future. The Somali authorities are being supported by the International Monetary Fund in their efforts to prepare for currency reform.
The Somaliland Republic, which has been de facto independent since 1991, has introduced its own currency, the Somaliland Shilling, which has only been able to establish itself as a means of payment in the region between Hargeysa and Berbera.