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Ukrainian national currency is the hryvnia (sometimes also spelled as "gryvna" or "hryvna"); abbreviation: UAH. Paper bills are issued in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 hryvnias; coins have denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 kopecks, as well as 1 hryvnia, which is equal to 100 kopecks.

Over the few recent years, Ukraine's currency has been very stable. It is traditionally tied to the dollar, which is another very popular currency. Euros are also used increasingly, and majority of population prefers to keep savings in dollars or Euros. After the terrible inflation of the post-Soviet transition years, when millions of people lost all their savings, most of the population are still mistrustful of the local currency. Majority of people have lack of trust in banks, either, and keep their savings at homes, usually in dollars or in Euros.As hryvnia is the only official national currency, dollars, Euros or other currency will not be accepted in state organizations, stores or supermarkets. Please, make sure that you always have some hryvnias to pay for city transport or taxi, or in stores. Private vendors in open markets, as well as apartment owners who rent apartments privately, will very probably accept dollars or Euros, as well.

You can bring some dollar cash with you to Ukraine and exchange it for local currency easily everywhere, by visiting currency exchange offices. There are dozens of exchange offices everywhere; the current rate of dollar to hryvnia is about UAH5 to $1.

Since the introduction of hryvnia, citizens are continuously advised to be careful with handling money, for there is much urban talk about counterfeit hryvnias. Cashiers and shop assistants in some stores will pass hryvnias under a scanner or hold larger bills up against a light. They say that fake notes have thinner paper and one can see that they differ from the real currency.

Please, note that it's better to bring whole, unmarked and crisp bill to Ukraine, for older or torn notes may be refused. They can only be exchanges at a few banks, with a loss of about 10% of the value.

Travelers checks are only cashed with certain banks, and with a greater commission. These banks may have limited hours for cashing travelers checks, so bringing travelers checks to Ukraine is often regarded impractical by visitors.

Using credit cards is becoming increasingly popular these days. Please, remember that cards other than Visa or Master will not be accepted by ATMs.

Go to pages about Banks in Ukraine and Using ATM and Currency Exchange