What Somali shilling actually arrives in Somalia when someone sends Australian dollars, at the live mid-market rate. We explain the process; we never recommend a provider.
| They send (AUD) | You receive at mid-market (SOS) |
|---|---|
| 500 AUD | 199,105 SOS |
| 1,000 AUD | 398,210 SOS |
| 2,000 AUD | 796,420 SOS |
| 5,000 AUD | 1,991,050 SOS |
Mid-market equivalents, not transfer quotes - the sender’s provider deducts its margin and any fees before the money reaches you. STRUCK 11:00 AEST · TUE 13 OCT.
Perched on the Horn of Africa, Somalia has the longest mainland coastline on the continent and a deep tradition of poetry that earned it the nickname 'nation of bards'.
A light blue field with a single white five-pointed star at the centre. Article 6(1) of the 2012 Provisional Constitution describes the flag without interpreting it, giving the blue no meaning, shade reference or origin; the government's own description takes the star's five points as the regions where Somali people live. The widely repeated account that the blue was taken from the United Nations flag is not stated by any Somali official source.
A continent pretending to be a country - Australia is the only nation that fills an entire continent, with most of its 27 million people clinging to the coast while the red-dirt interior does its own thing.
A blue field with the Union Jack in the canton, a large white seven-pointed Commonwealth Star below it, and the five white stars of the Southern Cross at the fly. Six of the big star's points stand for the states and the seventh for the territories; the Southern Cross marks Australia's place in the southern sky.
Somalia has not issued new official banknotes in decades, and the US dollar handles most transactions above the smallest. Mobile wallets are close to universal and many are denominated in dollars, so the shilling is frequently not what a recipient ends up holding, whatever the transfer was quoted in.
The exchange rate is set on the sending side - by the service the sender chooses in Australia - so the most useful thing a receiver can do happens before the transfer: share the live mid-market rate on this page so the sender can judge the margin in their quote. How the money arrives in Somalia determines any local receiving charges - bank-to-bank transfers can pass through intermediary banks that deduct handling fees.
Sending rather than receiving? The sender’s view of this corridor covers the same rate from the other side. The AUD/SOS converter page handles any amount. Receiving money from overseas explains the process end to end.
Somali payout is governed by a named and dated licensing stack, and the person collecting sits inside it rather than beside it. The Regulation on Money Transfer Business Operations of 2016 defines a customer as a person including both sender and recipient of money transfers, and defines a beneficiary as a customer record holder who receives a money transfer from another person. The recipient therefore has their own record and their own due diligence, not an entry in somebody else's file.
The obligations that follow are specific. A business must maintain the information required by the regulations and by the customer registration rules for at least five years, and for five years after a relationship ends, and produce it to competent authorities on request. It must notify customers in writing that they are entitled to be issued with a receipt for any money transfer transaction. Where the money arrives in a mobile wallet, the provider must establish and record the true identity of the person transacting, at the time the relationship is established and during every transaction.
A recipient can check who they are dealing with before they go. The Central Bank publishes registers of the money transfer businesses, mobile money services and commercial banks it licenses, and the 2014 licensing regulations state the purpose plainly, that the central bank shall make the register available so the public may check which money transfer business is properly licensed before using the service.
Sources: Central Bank of Somalia, Regulation on Money Transfer Business Operations, 2016, CBS/NBS/REG/03 · Central Bank of Somalia, Money Transfer Business Licensing Regulations, 2014, CBS/NBS/REG/0002 · Central Bank of Somalia, Mobile Money Regulations, amended 2020, CBS/NBS/REG/06 · Central Bank of Somalia, register of licensed money transfer businesses
How much Somali shilling will I receive in Somalia?
A little less than the mid-market figures above. The service the sender uses in Australia sets the rate and fees; local receiving banks in Somalia can also apply their own charges depending on how the transfer arrives.
The sender asked for my details - what will they need?
Whatever their transfer service asks for on the receiving side - typically your full legal name and local bank account details in Somalia. Give the name exactly as your bank records it; mismatches are the most common reason a transfer is delayed.
Why did I receive less than the rate on this page suggests?
The mid-market rate is the midpoint between global buy and sell prices, and no retail provider deals at it. The gap between it and a quote is the provider’s margin, which is usually where most of the cost of a transfer sits. On a bank-to-bank transfer an intermediary bank can also deduct a handling charge in transit.