Claim: "Tanzania bans foreign currency for local transactions."
Verdict: correct, foreign currency for local transactions has been banned by the ANZANIAN government.
Full Text: Shine Liberia, a Facebook blog, claimed that Tanzania banned the use of the US dollar to purchase goods and services.
The claim attracted 72 reactions, 21 comments, and a share. Shine-Liberia has 208K followers.
Verification: The Bank of Tanzania is responsible for setting monetary policy, issuing the Tanzanian shilling, and supervising other banks and financial institutions.
Like many East African countries, Tanzania has been managing a dollar scarcity alongside a surging cost-of-living crisis (archived here).
In August 2023, the Tanzanian shilling hit an all-time low against the dollar, which means people are paying more for imported goods (archived here).
The government has taken steps to mitigate the issue, including the issuance of regulations on the use of foreign currency, 2025.
The bank, in its public notice published May 2, titled: PROHIBITION ON THE USE OF FOREIGN CURRENCY FOR LOCAL TRANSACTIONS/PAYMENTS WITHIN THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA.
In the statement, it states that the regulations were published in the Government Gazette No. 198, dated 28th March 2025.
"Under these Regulations, pricing and payment for all goods and services within the country must be in Tanzanian Shillings. Therefore, it is an offense to quote, advertise, or indicate prices in foreign currency, to compel, facilitate, or accept payment in foreign currency, or to refuse payment made in Tanzanian Shillings.”
However, the claim that Tanzania is “ditching” the dollar as a reserve currency is correct.
Conclusion: The claim by Shine-Liberia that Tanzania banned US Dollars is correct, but the ban is not only against US dollars but against all foreign currencies.
