Before you start

Passport with the visa and entry stamp
Your carte de séjour, or evidence the file is lodged
Proof of an N'Djamena address
An employment contract or work certificate for a salary account
A SIM registered in your own name against your national identification number, for mobile money

Step-by-step

1
Set up mobile money in your first week
Airtel Money and Moov Money open at agents against identity documents and an active line on that network, and they carry the retail economy in a country where formal banking reaches a small minority. Register in your own verified name on a SIM registered in your own name — since 2025 the regulator has been forcing identification against the national identification number, and a wallet on somebody else's line is a liability rather than a shortcut.
Mobile appWho: YouMinutes at an agentFree to open; per-transaction fees
2
Open a bank account once the residence file is moving
Take the passport, the address proof, the residence card and the work certificate in one visit; an incomplete file turns a same-day opening into three appointments. Ask about a foreign-currency arrangement if your package is denominated abroad, and ask what documentation the bank requires for outward transfers before you need to make one rather than after.
In personWho: YouDays with a complete file; weeks for a company accountAsk for the tariff sheet in writing
3
Learn the transfer paperwork before your first transfer
Under the CEMAC exchange regulation, transfers and settlements for current transactions abroad may be made freely, subject to justifying the origin of the funds and producing the documents required. Chadian banks apply it. Keep contracts, invoices and payslips scanned and filed from your first month; the household that can produce the paperwork moves money in days and the one that cannot does not move it at all.
In personWho: You and your bankPer transferBank charges plus the documentation time
4
Carry cash, and understand what your francs are
Card acceptance is limited to a handful of hotels and the largest retailers. The market, the clandos and the grills are cash. Your francs are Central African CFA francs, fixed to the euro; the identically-named West African CFA franc from Dakar or Abidjan is a different currency and is not legal tender here, however similar the notes look at a glance.
In personWho: YouEvery dayATM fees on a foreign card add up

Documents you’ll need

Passport with visa and entry stamp
Carte de séjour or evidence the file is lodged
Proof of an N'Djamena address
Work certificate or employment contract
A SIM and mobile wallet registered in your own name
For a company account: incorporation documents, beneficial-owner identification and a banker's reference

Things most newcomers don’t know

Your money is issued in Yaoundé and pegged to the euro, and neither fact is Chadian.

The BEAC issues the CFA franc for six CEMAC states and the parity with the euro is fixed at 655.957. Monetary policy, exchange rules and the notes in your pocket are regional decisions. It also means a euro-denominated salary is genuinely stable here and a dollar-denominated one moves with EUR/USD rather than with anything happening in Chad.

Source: Banque des États de l'Afrique Centrale (BEAC)

Mobile money is the banking system for most people, and it is keyed to your ID.

Airtel and Moov have carried mobile money since 2012 in a country with very low formal banking penetration. Since 2025 the regulator has been forcing SIM identification against the national identification number, which means your ANATS-issued identity is the root of your phone, your wallet and therefore your ability to pay for anything without cash.

Source: ARCEP SIM identification drive, 2025; Chadian mobile money since 2012

The electricity that runs the ATM is the least reliable part of the chain.

The World Bank estimated about 12% of Chad's population had electricity access in 2022, with the overwhelming majority of generation from diesel; in July 2025 the government dissolved the Société Nationale d'Électricité and replaced it with a new public operator, TchadElec. Keep enough cash for two days, because a card that works in principle is not a card that works during an outage.

Source: Chadian electricity sector reform, July 2025; World Bank access estimate, 2022

XAF and XOF are two currencies with one name, one symbol and one rate.

Notes from the West African zone are not legal tender here and vice versa, despite both being written FCFA and both fixed at 655.957 to the euro. Anyone arriving from a posting in Dakar, Abidjan or Bamako should change their cash before they travel rather than discovering it at a till in Dembé.

Source: BEAC and BCEAO currency zones

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving with West African CFA francs and expecting to spend them
Trying to open a bank account before the residence card file exists
Assuming cards work outside the top hotels and largest retailers
Starting an international transfer with no invoice, contract or payslip behind it
Registering a mobile wallet on a SIM that is not identified in your own name
Holding no cash buffer in a city where outages are routine

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.