Compare Mauritian Rupee Exchange Rates in Mauritius

Getting Mauritian rupees for your trip to Mauritius

The Mauritius Revenue Authority sets no ceiling on the cash or bearer negotiable instruments you may bring in or take out. Anyone arriving, transiting or leaving with more than Rs 500,000, or the same value in a foreign currency, must declare it, either online or on the Currency Declaration Form, saying where the money came from and how it will be used. The authority's April 2024 leaflet for arrivals lists currency among the items that go through the red channel, and advises using that channel if in doubt.

The tourist board says you will usually get a better rate by changing money after you land rather than before you leave, and that cash machines and exchange desks stand just past baggage reclaim at the airport. Their operators and charges are not published, so change only what the first journey needs.

GOV.UK adds that border staff may ask to see that you have a ticket out of the country, and that the Mauritius All in One travel form should be completed online ahead of the flight, with a printed copy showing its QR code. Travellers who skip it complete a disembarkation card at the airport.

Best ways to pay in Mauritius

Debit cards with no overseas fees

MCB's fee table, in force from 1 September 2026, makes withdrawals free for MCB's debit cards alone and gives no figure for foreign cards, so your UK card's overseas terms set the cost. Pay in rupees if a machine or till offers pounds, as Which? advises.

Cash machines

MCB says it runs the largest network, with more than 180 machines across Mauritius and Rodrigues, and that selected machines exchange foreign currency. Read the screen for any charge before you confirm.

Bank exchange rates

SBM publishes a daily table of indicative rates with a buying rate for pound notes. The bank stresses that the figures are indicative and that you should ask for an updated rate before any transaction.

Cash for small spending

The tourist board says bargaining is welcome in markets and tipping is appreciated, so keep some rupees in small notes for stalls, buses, the Metro Express and tips.

ATMs in Mauritius

In Port Louis, Le Caudan Waterfront names MCB as the bank behind its cash machines, though it does not say where they stand. MCB's daily limits and charges are written for its own customers, so how much a visitor can withdraw depends on the card and the bank that issued it.

Cash machines to use

• MCB cash machines: the largest network, by the bank's own account
• Selected MCB machines that also exchange foreign currency (the bank does not list which)
• Airport cash machines past baggage reclaim (tourist board)

Cash machines to think twice about

• Old paper Rs2000 notes: no longer legal tender since 1 February 2019 and exchangeable only at the Bank of Mauritius

No source checked here named an independent cash-machine operator or gave a charge for foreign cards, so know your UK bank's overseas fees and choose rupees rather than pounds on screen.

Changing money in Mauritius

SBM and MCB are the two banks whose sites were checked. SBM publishes a daily rate for pound notes and MCB says some of its machines exchange currency, but neither says whether its branches change cash for people who are not customers, so ask first. No official page confirmed the fees charged by the airport desks or by licensed exchange offices.

Tipping is not compulsory but is welcome, the tourist board says, and some high-end restaurants put a 10 to 15% service charge on the bill, so check it before leaving more.