Need cash when I land, best place in Mauritania? Airport or places in the city?
Mauritania works best if you bring euros. Use the airport counter just for transport money, then head into Nouakchott where banks like BPM or BCI may accept your Visa. Mastercard barely works here. Always have backup euros or USD in small notes, and ask at your auberge for the safest bureaux to use. Ouguiya is still a cash economy, so plan accordingly.
I tried my Revolut Mastercard at BPM and Mauribank in Nouakchott - both rejected it. The airport counter gave me a terrible exchange rate for USD, and later I had to use euros I had brought. Machines sometimes don’t have cash, so don’t rely only on ATMs. Mauritania is still very cash-based, so bring physical currency if you don’t want to get stuck.
I changed €20 at the airport for a taxi, then used the BPM ATM near Avenue de Gaulle in Nouakchott with my Wise Visa card - worked fine and gave ouguiya at a fair rate. Another traveller staying at Auberge Menata said BCI in the city centre worked well with their Monzo Visa too. Euros are accepted everywhere at bureaux, so bring them if you can.
At Nouakchott-Oumtounsy International Airport, you’ll find one or two exchange counters, but the rates are worse than in town. In Nouakchott, Banque Populaire de Mauritanie (BPM), BCI, and Mauribank have ATMs that sometimes accept Visa cards. Mastercard doesn’t work often. Currency exchanges in the city centre usually offer better deals, and euros are the easiest to change.