A "form" of legal tender

Last weekend I went shopping. I parked the car far from the central market area due to a possible shortage of parking spaces.
I almost finished buying the items on my list when I decided to go into a lingerie shop to look for an item that has been on my shopping list forever: a seamless wireless bra.

I was very lucky to find it in this shop, and as fate would have it, it was the last one available and I hadn’t seen it in any other shop. The salesperson said it cost CFA 4,500. Behold I had just CFA 3,500 on me! I tried to haggle the price to the amount I had on me, in vain. I thought of taking a much dreaded along walk to the car and also the possibility of paying partially by a telephone credit transfer. The latter option seemed more likely.

So I asked her if she had an MTN phone so I could complete the payment through a phone credit transfer. She said no, she had an Orange phone. However she added, “I have a friend on the MTN network you can send the remaining CFA1000 to”. Problem solved, I went away with the much-sought-for bra, smiling as I walked away.

Next day I was out searching for a car cushion as the car seat was getting really uncomfortable. I met the hawkers around the Mahima supermarket who had just what I was looking for. Again, the CFA10,000 on me wasn’t enough for the CFA15,000 we finally agreed to after much haggling. He had an MTN phone and I tried to see if he will accept my offer of completing the rest through a credit transfer. His answer was “yes”! though after some initial hesitation. Again I went home smiling at this new form of legal tender I was experiencing! I wonder what its limits are!