Money, cards and ATMs in Zambia

The kwacha rule, in force since 26 December 2025

• The Bank of Zambia's Currency Directives, 2025 took effect on 26 December 2025 and require domestic transactions to be settled in kwacha. A contract may still be denominated in a foreign currency, but the payment is made in kwacha at the market rate.
• There is an exemption that covers tourists: non-resident payments for registered tourism services. In practice a lodge, tour operator or duty-free shop licensed for it may still take your dollars, and an ordinary shop or a private driver may not.
• Penalties reported for an individual breach run to 2,500 penalty units or two years' imprisonment. This is not a rule that only concerns businesses in the abstract; it is why a hotel that used to price in dollars may now hand you a kwacha figure.
• A caveat on sourcing, stated because this page will not pretend otherwise: the Bank of Zambia's own PDF of the directives is not reachable. Its website now answers every document URL with the site shell, and the archived copies are image scans. The facts above are carried independently by IFLR1000 and by Zambia Monitor, which is the second-best position and worth knowing when you argue with a till.

What to carry

• Bring US dollars, pounds or South African rand to change. Those are the three Global Affairs Canada names as accepted at any exchange bureau.
• Cards work in larger supermarkets, restaurants and hotels in the big cities. ATMs are in main cities. Outside them, carry kwacha in cash, and assume a rural stop has neither a card machine nor a cash point.
• Power cuts take the ATMs and card terminals with them. Draw cash when the power is on rather than when you need it.
• Canada also flags card and ATM fraud: use machines inside a bank or a business, cover the keypad, and check statements.

Prices you will meet in the first hour

• The airport taxi into town starts at 250 kwacha, printed by the operator as 25 US dollars.
• The departure charge is 25 US dollars for international flights and 3 for domestic, normally inside the ticket, and payable in cash in kwacha if it is not.
• Visa fees are published in US dollars: 10 for a day tripper, 50 for the KAZA UniVisa, 50 for a single entry.