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	Create New Topic   My Posts   My forum buddies   Invite friends   Private messages Russian brides > Main Forum > Currency in Ukraine Author Post freddybobs Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 10/7/2006 11:20:00 PM   Enough talk, I'm dipping my toes in the water for the first time at the end of next week when I am Ukraine-bound. There's a whole heap of things I should probably be asking, but I don't want to hit local cash-flow problems. I was thinking that it might be better not to get any money converted to Hryvnia here in UK, but local ATM's would be a better bet - yes/no? Also, someone I know who works in a bureau d'exchange told me there were very strict limits on Hryvnia in and out of the country. Is this true? Also, when I was in Romania a year ago, then the Romanians seemed to respect Euro's a lot more than their own currency for anything more expensive than a couple of quid, but the only foreign currencies they recognised at all were Euro and, to a lesser extent, USD. Is it similar in Ukraine? Is it worth carrying euro's and/or dollars? I'm assuming that sterling will be useless? RK Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 10/8/2006 5:26:27 PM   freddy...officially, the value of the hryvnia is based upon the USD, not the euro. My experience has been that they love the USD and at this point in time, carries more economic respect. However, the euro is readily accepted and exchanged. danny3777 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 10/8/2006 5:56:59 PM   freddy, The best exchange rates in UK tend to be at the post office ( www.postoffice.co.uk ) you can pre-order online, you cannot change pounds into Hryvna's but you can into USD or Euros, there are a minimal amount of exchange points in Ukraine that will change GBP's but not that many and the exchange rate ain't particularly good. To work out best esxchange rates, GBP to USD/Euro to subsequently Hvyna, How many Hryvna's you may expect at the end of the day then: www.xe.com/ucc/full.shtml For years I have not changed money but relied upon the ATM's to receive my Hryvna's but like the workforce in Ukraine the ATM's will choose to work when they choose to work. I would suggest that you rely upon the ATM's, there are a few ATM's at Borispol airport but whether they choose to work or not is a different matter, but take a back up supply of GBP's also, you'll be able to change them somewhere. Please remember that you can only collect the equivalent of GBP300.00 per day from an ATM on your card thus if you have apartment and other things to pay for on day 1 then bear this in mind. Also, if your bank is like my bank, until I divorced them, then if they see large quantities of money being taken from your card in such a country as Ukraine then they may put a 'block' on it. freddybobs Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 10/8/2006 6:46:40 PM   Cheers for the advice RK/Martin I have a small stash of Euro's laying around, not sure how much, so I'll prob take that and maybe supplement with a few more if need be. I'd rather change to euro's than usd where poss because I know I'll use them sooner or later. I have more than one current account, so am not too bothered about the withdrawal limits. Good point re bank blocking payments - I've had more than enough slanging matches in my local bank, whose slogan is 'another way' - something I keep meaning to take them up on. I may talk to them to make sure they don't, or at least say they won't freeze my card. cheers ! Philly Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 10/8/2006 9:32:08 PM   You get a better exchange rate from the banks changing your money into Hryvna in Ukraine, rather than in UK. To expand upon Martin's advice, I usually notify my credit card company and local bank that I will be traveling to Ukraine on certain dates, so they will not put a stop on withdraws there (for fear of theft). Most credit cards charge a 2-3% currencyconversion fee. Citicorp is an exception. USAA charges only a 1% fee. ATM charges are extra. Better to change/withdraw as much as you need at one time, as some fees are charged per transaction. Better to spend all your Hryvna at the airport as you leave. Good luck! boredfukka Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 10/9/2006 4:18:13 AM   you can get $100 and other units out of ukrainian ATMs. Not all of them do it, but the ones with all the visas and mastercards/cirrus do them usually. It asks if you want to be paid in hryvna or USD. I took the USD coz they like you when you change hard currency. :) GeminiDreams Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 10/9/2006 10:05:08 PM   Some ATMs have fairly low limits for withdrawls. There are hundreds of places to change money but wouldnt carry too much cash on yourself and you tend not to need it. Always keep keypad covered when inputting your pin at ATM to prevent your card being pirated using card reader. Had that happen to me at the Sheraton in Cairo. Got the money back but it was a hassle. alexkkk Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/18/2013 10:49:27 AM   I realize that the thread is old, and there might be people who are looking for a more up to date information on exchange currency in Ukraine. I am not an exception, so if anyone can provide me with updated information, that would be very much appreciate. I have been doing research before embarking on my trip for Ukraine. I know that Amex is not very popular in Ukraine. On this page http://www.poltavatravel.com/visa-and-mastercard-use-in-ukraine/ I have read that it is best to bring Visa or Mastercard. Is this true? I won't be able to use my American Express while in Ukraine? jetmba. Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/19/2013 7:14:04 AM   alex: American Express is useless except at SOME big hotels. I went on a trip with TWO Visa ATM cards. One from Charles Schwaub Bank (because you pay not ATM fees anywhere in the WORLD with that one. A very unique feature) and the other as a back up - from my local bank (which charges an arm and a leg for overseas usage). On ATM card flatly didn't work - the other was rather quickly eaten by an ATM machine. That left me with two credit cards left. Because they just happened top be in my wallet - I NEVER planned to use them - a Discover Card and an American Express. American Express will allow cash advances - but not in Ukraine. You can even get it through a bank in Ukraine. And I spent a good part of the trip looking for ANY place that would take it. I found a few to let me stretch the cash I had - but very few. And Discover is absolutely useless all around. I now travel with THREE ATM cards on different accounts. (Two are just for emergency.) And exclusively Master Card or Visa credit cards. jetmba. Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/19/2013 9:22:53 AM   What I meant to say is you CAN'T even get a cash advance from American Express through a bank. I was in Dontesk at the time stopped at a smaller bank and the manager was nice enough to listen to my story and try and help me out. We went together to the biggest bank in Dontesk - he was sure that THERE we could arrange a cash advance. We worked our way through the management of the bank - which I couldn't have done myself, due to the language barrier. They called several American offices of American Express - but to no avail. You simply cannot get a cash advance - even though elsewhere in Europe all it takes is going to an ATM with the card. smart a Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/19/2013 6:06:38 PM   Quotes from jetmba.coyote: " What I meant to say is you CAN'T even get a cash advance from American Express through a bank. " " On ATM card flatly didn't work - the other was rather quickly eaten by an ATM machine. " This must be because jetmba has experienced a bank closure on him, or, should I say, the bank has pulled the pin on him. I, personally, had no problems at all with my ANZ travellers card..Not one problem.. You see, you have to have m-o-n-e-y...........Otherwise, they don't work. durak Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/19/2013 7:43:22 PM   In my many trips to Ukraine, I've never yet tried to make a charge with a credit card in a shop or hotel -- but if I recall correctly, I _did_ once use a card in the Aerosvit office in Kyiv when changing my return flight. I use a combination of cash brought with me and ATM withdrawals (using a Cirrus/Plus ATM card from my US bank). Though I have heard that credit card acceptance is growing (it did not exist, when I first began traveling to the former Soviet Union), I expect that credit cards are still not very useful. On the other side, most of us are FAR more likely to suffer a stolen wallet in the FSU than at home, so I recommend DO NOT carry credit cards around with you, and ESPECIALLY DO NOT carry an ATM card that also functions as a debit card. (If your debit card is stolen, the attached bank account may not be usable for as long as several weeks!) When I travel, I bring two wallets: I leave my "home wallet" with driving license etc. in a safe place, and on the street carry a "travel wallet" with nothing but cash. For those who will need big cash (for example, to pay for an apartment), but don't want to fly with it, the big cities will have a few banks where you can cash American Express traveler's cheques. You can locate the banks on the website (I just tried a few small towns in Ukraine, and didn't find one without a bank that takes them), and some have very good weekend hours. (Note: On a Russian travel website, a few people vigorously maintained that you can't use traveler's cheques in Russia. In fact you can, I've seen it done with my own eyes -- but you are likely to lose from 2 to 5 percent on exchange rates and fees.) ragingbull Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/19/2013 10:17:46 PM   One hard thing is withdrawing from an ATM when you remember the password as letters, not numbers. There are numbers, but not the corresponding letters. By assigning three letters to each number, I was able to do it. But I was there for five or ten minutes in the front of the ATM counting with my fingers. lonelyranger1701 Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/19/2013 10:52:08 PM   Rb,, couldn't you look at the buttons on your cell phone for converting letters to numbers?? ragingbull Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/19/2013 10:58:39 PM   My cell phone was in my luggage. I was just taking a walk. The apartment was about a mile away. moyarishka Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/20/2013 5:00:46 AM   you have letters on ATM? O_o ragingbull Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/20/2013 9:21:19 AM   Yes, moyarisha. Just like in phones. Many of us remember our passwords by the letters. http://tinyurl.com/a6aeo9a RodanTsunami Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/20/2013 3:34:09 PM   The only cards from America I have found to be accepted are debit cards and Visa or Mastercharge credit cards. My advice is to use a card written to a major or even an international bank. I had a Visa through a small bank and there were added security triggers that were automated and locked the card down. The telephone operations were only during U.S. business hours. THe card failed and I had to make a call at night then return the next day to the bank. It failed three times, each time I was asurred that all was good, but it failed on each following day. At home I found that the triggers were related, first no pin code and then trying to retrieve too much money in one transaction($300). Thus, the trouble with smaller banks not used regularly abroad. Also some banks have a large transaction fee for cash advance and higher when abroad, so check around. Make sure that you call the bank to notify where you might use the card and when. For my personal protection I do not have a pin code. I therefore must use the card in a bank with my passport as i.d. Be prepared to find resistance traveling without a pin code. Regardless of the type of card, I would only use a bank to get cash. I never had trouble with purchase transactions. I would "NEVER" use an ATM card other than at a bank. The FSU still a mainly a "cash and carry" country. Best to just operate that way. Carry at least 2 cards in the event that one becomes locked. ragingbull Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/20/2013 4:50:58 PM   I have an idea which I have not tried or researched yet rather than messing with ATM's. Since Moneygram and Western Union have been reliable, has anyone thought of sending money to himself during the trip? One can budget the entire trip and have it released at various times. Those not used, you can simply claim as not received at the conclusion of the trip. Has anyone tried that? durak Member send PM   block PM add to buddies Send: 1/20/2013 5:44:51 PM   @rb: I only have a little experience with Western Union, but when I sent money the fees were quite high. Probably travelers cheques would be a less costly option. Your Reply: Your name:   New Registration Password:   Forgot password?   refresh Code:   Russian brides > Main Forum > Currency in Ukraine
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