5 Questions for a Money Changer in Mogadishu
Apr 13, 2010
Abdinashir Mohamed Guled spends five minutes asking a money changer in Mogadishu five questions about his job.
What currencies do people in Mogadishu use and what is their value compared to each other?
A lot of foreign currencies are used in Somalia, we change money 24 hours a day. People use Somali shillings and U.S. dollars. The other currencies that I do not use while shopping but that are available in the exchange markets are Euros, United Arab Emirates dirham, Saudi riyal, the Ethiopian birr, and Kenyan shillings. The problem is if any foreign bank notes gets slight cut, then they are totally rejected or devalued.
Referring to the exchange rate, it is 30,000 Somali shillings to $1 USD. Most of the Somalis to U.S. dollars instead of carrying the bulk of Somali shillings in a violent country.
How much does a goat cost in each currency?
One goat is $50 which is equivalent to 1.5 million Somali shillings.
Where is Somali currency printed and how does it get to Mogadishu?
The currency is usually printed in Malaysia and carried to Mogadishu by traders.
How do you make a living from doing this?
If you change $100 the profit will be $1, so my living depends on the amount of money I change.
If you could talk to a banker in New York what would you ask him?
How do they make a profit if they give an interest rate to everyone with a savings account? How does the bank get profit? Do they invest the money in the saving accounts or in other businesses such as trading?
What dries up the funds of the bank, we hear some banks are bankrupt and closed. Do banks get other loans from other banks? These days there is what we call an Islamic banking system whereby the bank charges a fee for the money they keep in savings instead of giving interest, how has this system affected you?
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Tags:
Exchange rate, exchange rate, foreign currency Somalia, Mogadishu, Money Changer, Saudi Riyal, Somali money changer, Somalia
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