Adventures in a cash economy

 January 15, 2022

One of the interesting adaptations I face here is living in a cash-based economy. In the States, I very rarely carry cash, because I tend to spend it. For some reason, I am more careful when it comes to using my debit card. I pay for most things with a debit card, occasionally use a credit card for online purchases, and pay bills with a check. 

None of those really works here. One pays for everything in cash. Hammer did mention a couple of months ago that he had bought a cell phone on credit (a first for him); and I saw a sign in a store saying that you could pay with your phone, although it also had a picture of a card so I am not sure how that works. For me, paying in cash means a trip to the bank to withdraw money and, even before that, some thinking and planning to see how much I need to withdraw.

During the process of buying my car, Hammer estimated that I would need $8000. Rather than take several days to accumulate that amount through ATM withdrawals, he took me to a bank in Lomé that would cash an American check. It took two trips to the bank to get the money. Our first visit was on a Saturday, a half-day for them. They did not have enough money to give me then, because that is roughly 4,000,000 francs. I say roughly because we figure it based on an exchange rate of 500 CFA to a dollar. I have looked up the actual exchange rate a few times, and it is usually more like 562 CFA to a dollar, but that calculation demands assistance. Hammer had to go back the next Tuesday and collect the rest. For a brief period, I was a millionaire!

There are three ATMs that I visit. One of them will give me 250,000 francs at a time. The one in Vogan will only give me 200,000 francs. However, I usually can re-insert my card and do a second transaction. I haven't tried to do a third, because I don't really want to be withdrawing that much from my account at any one time.

When I go shopping, then, I have to keep a running total of what I have spent and how much I have left so that I am able to pay for everything. This past week I went to Lomé to get a refrigerator. I passed up a couple of things that I wanted/needed because I was afraid that I would not have enough money for the fridge and the voltage regulator and other things I needed. Fortunately, the store gives a 20% discount at the cash register, so I had a big enough cushion for the items that were on my list.

Paying bills highlights another facet of the economy. Many things are paid in advance. The cell phone bill, for example. That is not too odd, we have "pay as you go" cell phones in the States. But the electric bill is another story. The meter tells you how much credit remains. Once that gets, you go to buy more. One can go directly to the power company, CEET. The day I needed to pay, though, was a Sunday so the office was closed. So I went to a kiosque to pay. I took the picture of the meter so that they could see the number on the bar code. Then I told them how much I wanted to spend. The lady entered that information into a cell phone, then wrote down a 16 digit code on a little piece of paper. When I returned to the house, I entered the code on the number pad--well, actually Séna entered it--and voilà, I had credit and electricity again. I bought 20,000 CFA worth and am watching to see how long that will last so that I can figure out a regular payment schedule. The advantage to going to the company is that you get exactly what you pay for. At the kiosque, they take a fee, so I might have only got 18,000 worth. Occasionally they aren't able to sell all that you want. 

My rent also had to be paid in advance--all 6 months of it. Then, since I didn't pay for a year, the homeowner decided I should pay another 6 months as a deposit! 

One final note on paying in cash: coins or smaller bills are much appreciated. That was the case in France as well with francs (showing my age here; the Euro has been around for 20 years) and with Euros. Quite the opposite from what I am used to doing. So when making a largish purchase, such as at the grocery store or the gas station, one tries to collect as many coins and small bills as possible. Thursday afternoon at the grocery store, Karen was supposed to collect 450 francs in change. The cashier asked Karen if she had the coins, claiming not to have the change in her drawer. Karen did not, so the cashier just subtracted the 450 from my bill and told Karen (but not me) that I would give her my change! 

Stay tuned for further adventures!