Seychelles Currency and Money Guide

The currency

The currency is the Seychellois rupee. It is not the same currency as the Mauritian rupee or the Indian rupee, which is worth knowing before you convert anything on a phone.

We do not publish an exchange rate on this page. A rate written into a guide is wrong within weeks and is then quoted confidently by somebody planning a budget. Check it on the day.

Cards and cash

On Mahé and Praslin cards are widely accepted: hotels, restaurants, dive operators, the larger shops. The card economy here is more developed than the size of the country suggests.

Carry cash anyway, and carry it in small denominations, for:

• market stalls and roadside stands, including the fish and produce markets in Victoria;
• taxis and small boat operators;
• La Digue, where the scale of business is smaller and the bicycle-and-oxcart economy is genuinely cash-first;
• entry to smaller sites, guides and tips.

⚠ Declare cash on arrival above the threshold

There are strict customs rules and cash above a declaration threshold must be declared on the way in. We are deliberately not printing the figure: it is a number that moves, and the consequence of acting on a stale one falls on you at a customs desk. Check it against the Seychelles authority itself before you fly. See Seychelles Visa and Entry Requirements.

⚠ The cost nobody budgets for

As a tourist you must pay for medical treatment in Seychelles. That is the FCDO's plain statement, not a caveat. It is why travel insurance here is a financial instrument rather than a box to tick, why you may be asked to show proof of it on arrival, and why the policy should cover unexpected medical evacuation as well as treatment.

Read the Seychelles Travel Safety Guide before you choose a policy rather than after.

Tipping

Service is often included, and tipping is appreciated rather than expected. Round up a taxi fare, leave something for a guide who has given you a real day, and do it in rupees rather than in a foreign note the recipient then has to convert at a loss.

Practical notes

• Tell your bank you are traveling, and carry a second card kept somewhere separate.
• Take money out in Victoria or on Praslin rather than assuming a small island will have a machine.
• Prices reflect the fact that almost everything is imported to a small archipelago. That is not a tourist markup, it is freight, and it applies to what residents buy too.

Sources

• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Seychelles entry requirements: the travel authorisation obtained before travel, the three-month visitor's permit issued on arrival, passport validity for the duration of stay, proof of travel insurance and the yellow fever certificate rule. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Seychelles health advice: the emergency number, the requirement that tourists pay for medical treatment, the main hospital at Mont Fleuri in Victoria, and the rules on bringing medication. Accessed 14 September 2026.
• UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office: Seychelles travel advice, which warns against travel to no part of the country. Accessed 14 September 2026.