Banking and paying on Zanzibar: opening an account as a foreigner
On Zanzibar anyone may open a foreign currency account, including people who do not live there. The Zanzibar government's bank, PBZ, asks a foreigner for their passport. If you move there, you pay rent, school and healthcare in shillings, and sooner or later the bank asks for your TIN. Keep your Dutch account: your AOW and your pension are paid into it.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
You can open a bank account on Zanzibar, also as a foreigner. The Foreign Exchange Act, Tanzania's foreign exchange law that also applies on Zanzibar, says that anyone may open a foreign currency account, whether they live in Tanzania or not. The People's Bank of Zanzibar (PBZ), 100 % owned by the Zanzibar government, asks a foreigner for their passport. If you move there, numbers are added: your TIN, the tax number, and your NIDA, the national identification number. And you pay your daily bills in shillings.
What does the bank ask for?
| What | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Foreign currency account | allowed for anyone, resident or not, at an authorised bank | Foreign Exchange Act |
| Ordinary account at PBZ | passport photo and copy of ID; for foreigners the passport | PBZ |
| Details for a foreign customer | name, address, date of birth, nationality, passport and visa, TIN if you have one, signature and thumbprint | Anti-money laundering regulations 2012 |
| TIN | apply online at the TRA, with your passport | TRA |
| NIDA registration | USD 100 (investor), USD 50 (employee), USD 20 (family member); payable through PBZ among others | NIDA |
| VAT on banking services on Zanzibar | 18 %, against a standard rate of 15 % | ZRA |
| Mobile money for foreigners | not found at an official source | — |
Which account can you open?
A foreign currency account, for example in euros or dollars, is open to anyone. That is in the Foreign Exchange Act of 1992, which expressly also applies to Zanzibar. Such an account is useful for receiving money from the Netherlands before you exchange it.
You also need an account in shillings. PBZ was founded in 1966 and is the Zanzibar government's bank. For an ordinary account for individuals it asks for a passport photo and a copy of your ID: preferably the NIDA card and the ZanID, and for foreigners the passport. The ZanID is the Zanzibar identity card for Zanzibaris; as a foreigner you do not get one. PBZ also has an account for the diaspora.
Why does the bank ask for your TIN and your visa?
Because the anti-money laundering rules require it. Under the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations of 2012 a bank records, among other things, a foreign customer's passport and visa, and their TIN if they already have one. It checks your TIN against a document from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), the tax authority for all of Tanzania. Those rules apply on the mainland; Zanzibar has its own anti-money laundering law, which we have not read. Requirements therefore differ per bank.
You apply for a TIN online at the TRA, as a resident and as a non-resident, with an official ID such as your passport. If you have a residence permit, you are also called on to register with NIDA. You pay for that registration through a bank, with a payment reference; PBZ is one of the banks NIDA names.
Which currency do you pay in?
In shillings. The Bank of Tanzania wrote on 20 June 2023 that prices in Tanzania belong in shillings, including rent, school fees and medical care. The shilling is the only legal tender. Tourists and non-residents may pay in foreign currency with their passport, but residents among themselves only in shillings.
Who counts as a resident? For the foreign exchange rules it is someone who lives in Tanzania for twelve consecutive months or longer, or whose centre of economic interest is there. That is a different concept from tax, where 183 days in a year is already enough.
Keep your Dutch bank account. Your AOW and your pension are paid into it, and because the Netherlands and Tanzania have no tax treaty, the Netherlands simply withholds wage tax on them. Ask your bank in advance whether your account stays open if you live outside the EU; that differs per bank.
And mobile payments?
For mobile money you need a registered SIM card. In Tanzania that registration has been done with your fingerprint since 2020. Which papers a foreigner needs for mobile money, we could not read at an official source. Ask the provider where you buy your SIM card.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 5 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Zanzibar or look inside the open plan first.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Bank of Tanzania — Foreign Exchange Act 1992, a foreign currency account for residents and non-residents, also on Zanzibar — bot.go.tz
- Bank of Tanzania — Anti-Money Laundering Regulations 2012, what a bank asks of a foreign customer — bot.go.tz
- Bank of Tanzania — press release of 20 June 2023, prices in shillings and paying in foreign currency — bot.go.tz
- People's Bank of Zanzibar — about the bank, wholly owned by the Zanzibar government — pbzbank.co.tz
- People's Bank of Zanzibar — accounts for individuals, passport for foreigners — pbzbank.co.tz
- TRA — applying for a TIN, for residents and non-residents — tra.go.tz
- NIDA — registration of foreigners with a residence permit, fees and paying through the bank — nida.go.tz
- TanzLII — SIM Card Registration Regulations 2020 (GN 112), biometric registration of SIM cards — tanzlii.org
- Zanzibar Revenue Authority — VAT, 15 % and 18 % on banking services — zanrevenue.org
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