Is there anywhere in the United States where I can exchange West African CFA francs for US dollars?
I recently returned from Senegal with a lot of leftover CFA francs because the currency exchange in the Dakar airport was closed. I tried changing the money back over in JFK airport but the exchange place said they do not accept this currency (funny because their name is “Worldwide currency”!) I live in Washington DC, so please let me know where I can buy back dollars.
Should you happen to be near an Embassy of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, or Togo just try to get it changed at the Embassy. All these countries use the West African CFA Franc and you may find visa applicants or Embassy personnel willing to change the currency.
Alternately you should check with your home bank whether they do currency trading. The CFA Franc is a stable currency since its exchange rate is historically fixed with the French Franc and nowadays the Euro. The exchange rate versus the French Franc has only been adjusted twice, in 1948 and in 1994.
The ignorant currency trader at JFK may have been worrying that the value of the currency will change that much before s/he is able to sell it again. If so they would also need to refuse to exchange Euros..
http://www.embassiesabroad.com/embassies-in/UnitedStates ..
