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GETTING HRYVNIAS IN UKRAINE

Do you plan on making a trip to Ukraine and would like to learn about its money and where to get it when you are in Ukraine? If that is the case, then please do keep on reading because we are about to answer your questions.

To begin with, Ukrainian currency is called "hryvnia", although it can be spelled and pronounced differently depending on the area of Ukraine where you go to. Some of the alternatives are: grivna, hryvnya. It is abbreviated to UAH. Its current rate of exchange to US dollar is: 1:8.025 and to Euro: 1:10.60 as of December 5, 2011. It means that for your US $100 you will get 802 UAH and 100 Euro is an equivalent of 1060 UAH.

Can you get Ukrainian hryvnias before leaving for Ukraine in your country of origin? Why not, you may as well try visiting your local bank to see if they have some. It all depends on where you come from. For example, if you are from Russia (which I doubt), you should not have any problems of getting Ukrainian hryvnias in your local bank. But if you come from Western Europe or America, then you might have a problem. So, what do you do then?

There are 3 possible ways to get Ukrainian hryvnias when you are in Ukraine. You can:

Use your Visa or MasterCard to withdraw money at an ATM (cashpoint, cash dispenser)
Cash your traveler's cheques
Or exchange your currency in Ukrainian hryvnias at a bank

Before I go ahead and describe you each possibility I mentioned above, let me just warn you from exchanging currency at an airport. The rate of exchange there is not as good as if you were to exchange your money in any bank of a city. But if you need cash to pay your way from an airport to a city of your destination, we suggest that you exchange just enough money to cover the cost of that service, and you can exchange the rest with a batter rate of exchange in a city.

USING VISA AND MASTERCARD TO WITHDRAW MONEY AT AN ATM

Nowadays, ATMs can be found in just about any corner of a relatively large city of Ukraine. Insert your card, select your preferred language (most likely English) and off you go. There are a few things to note though:

Don't bring American Express card. You won't be able to use it here
Know your card's PIN (personal identification number). You will be asked to enter it when you try to take off money at an ATM, as well as in a bank. If you don't know the PIN, then you cannot use your card (although you can still use it at bars and restaurants to pay for your orders, even if you don't know your PIN).
Some (but not all) banks may have a limit set on each transaction (you might not be able to take off more than 2000 hryvnias per operation)
Be ready to pay bank's commission (normally 3 percent).

CASHING YOUR TRAVELER'S CHEQUES

I don't know much about this operation. I only once or twice have witnessed the whole process and although I know that it works and you can cash your traveler's cheques at many banks, I would like to point out that the whole process is quite long, or at least it was the case with this particular bank. They would xerox (make a copy of) each traveler's cheque, they would xerox your passport and they would charge you a commission for the whole operation. This is how it works. It took us around 20 minutes to cash traveler's cheques at the bank in question. But if you ask me if it is possible, then yes, it is.

EXCHANGING CURRENCY IN UKRAINE

Starting from around the middle of 2011 National Bank of Ukraine have complicated the process of exchanging currency. Before it had been much easier, but it is still possible and should not be a problem whatsoever. You just need to know a few things:

You can bring as much as 10 000 euros of undeclared cash to Ukraine (or its equivalent in your national currency).
US Dollars and Euros are two widely accepted currencies that can be easily exchanged at just about any bank.
Make sure your banknotes look as good as fresh cut leaves. I know it may sound weird but people at our banks are unbelievably picky when it comes to the "freshness" of banknotes. Make sure banknotes don't have any markings, stains, or anything written on them. You might be denied an exchange of such banknotes, or they may charge you a 5 percent commission.
Have your passport ready (driver's license won't probably be enough).
Make sure you count Ukrainian hryvnias before you leave (do it in front of a clerk who did the exchange operation). If you don't do it right away and later on realize that they did not give you enough hryvnias, they will not take your claim seriously and you will not be able to get the missing money.

With hryvnias a bank's clerk should also give you a 377-a form (this is relevant only to nationals other than Ukrainians). Don't throw this form away. You will need it later on if at the end of your stay in Ukraine you realize that you have not spent all your hryvnias. Go to the same branch where you received this 377-a form. There is a chance (at least such is a rule they should follow) that if you go to any other bank, or even to a different branch of the same bank, they may refuse to exchange your hryvnias bank into US dollars or Euros. I know, it is complicated, but such is the law for the time being.

Please note: things when it comes to a 377-a form might be different depending on where you exchange currency in Ukraine. Our government tends to change the rules of game constantly, and some banks may not follow the official procedure. But the information I have described here is comes from a Ukrainian bank with a good reputation.

And before I call it a day ... don't exchange currency at local currency vendors. They are notorious for cheating people, although they may have a favourable rate of exchange and don't require neither your passport nor the 377-a form.

I hope you find this information useful. When it doubt, please don't hesitate to contact us.