Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
are quoted in euros we list them in euros. Other major currencies, such as British pounds,
Australian or Canadian dollars, Swiss francs and UAE dirhams, can be changed in Tehran
and other big cities, if not smaller towns. However, Turkish lira are treated with scorn
everywhere except close to the Turkish border; ditto for the Afghan, Azerbaijani, Turk-
men and Pakistani currencies.
Whichever currency you choose, the most important thing to remember is to bring as
much cash as you're likely to need, then a bit more. Getting your hands on money once
you're inside Iran is a nightmare.
ATMs
Although Iran has a functioning network of ATMs (cashpoint machines), they can only be
used with locally issued bank cards, so are useless to travellers unless you open a local ac-
count.
Cash
Although there are coins for IR1, IR2, IR5, IR10, IR20, IR50, IR100, IR250 and IR500,
only the last two are at all common, and themselves come in three different sizes. So rare
are IR1 coins (no longer minted) that they are considered lucky despite being utterly
worthless. Coins are marked only in Farsi numerals, while notes come in Persian and
European numerals. There are notes for IR100 (rare), IR200 (rare), IR500, IR1000 (two
varieties), IR2000 (two varieties), IR5000 (two varieties), IR10,000, IR20,000, IR50,000
and IR100,000.
Usually no-one cares what state rial notes are in, then out of the blue someone will re-
ject one because it has a tiny tear or is too grubby. On the other hand, foreign currencies
will be rejected if they are not clean and without any tears whatsoever.
Black Market
Changing money on the street is illegal and as long as exchange shops are allowed to
trade money at market rates it makes little sense to do this. That said, the volatile state of
the rial means there will be plenty of people prepared to buy your foreign exchange on the
black market.
If you do change money on the street expect to be treated like a total moron with no
idea of current rates. You should demand at least the same rate as you'd get in the ex-
change shop and expect the changer to take a 'service fee'. Count the rials carefully (there
are often notes missing or folded over), and don't hand over your bills until you're sure
the count is correct.
