Ruble in Russia

The Ruble in Russia is declared to be the monetary unit. 100 kopecks is equal to one rouble. For the recent years, in monetary circulation there are bills for 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000 rubles and coins for 1, 2, 5 kopecks, 10 and 50 kopecks, 1, 2, 5 and 10 roubles. Unfortunately, there is not convenient to change bills for 5,000 roubles in small shops, so that would be great to do that in big stores and restaurants.

It’s illegal to use US dollars or Euro for transactions in Russia. That came from the 90s, when hyperinflation made it possible to put the prices in rubles. So, you will still have to pay with rubles in most cases. Therefore, you won’t be able to use US dollars, Euro, or any other currency in a shop, cafe, or to pay to a service provider. However, there are so many Russians who owns their savings in dollars or Euro, partly because of the old tradition, partly because many get their salaries in foreign currencies, partly because they still don’t trust in Ruble’s stability.

It’would be better to pay in cash in Russia because the bank cards aren’t accepted everywhere, especially out of the biggest cities like Moscow and St Petersburg and so many others. And even if a supermarket or restaurant declares that cards are accepted there, this option may be false because due to technical problems, the connection between terminal and bank may be out of work. But during the last time most supermarkets and restaurants are trying to use the option to pay by card and have the active working system.

It can be legal to you to bring up to US$10,000 into Russia with no added declaration, and can take as much back out again. It is considered that due to the register of some banks Russia is unstable area, therefore if you try to do some stuff with your bank card then your card may be blocked. Fortunately, having some calls to your bank is a nice solution of your problem. Even if we are discussing your purchasing by cards or cheques in small shops that will be not an option at all.

How to Exchange Currency in Russia

If it comes to big cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg with a huge number of tourists its clear to remember that there are facilities to cater to money exchanges. Apart of these two destinations, it would be great to have cash before you are there.

Remember that currency exchange outlets at ports of entry into the country (such as train stations, border crossings and airports) normally have the bad exchange rates and fees in the country. In case of need to take some currency you should directly do it beyond the border entry points.

ATMs

ATMs are called bankomats in Russia and you can find them almost everywhere in the cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg but when it comes to the smaller towns you should pick up cash in advance. ATMs are from RSHB bank, UniCredit, Raiffeisen and Gazprom bank.

Sometimes there are very low withdrawal limits, for example, 200 euros daily, in this case you have to use some types of bank’s ATM to get more cash. Moreover, even if you put not Russian bank card in the ATM the display will be seen in English. It depends on your bank, you should pay for overseas ATM withdrawals and currency conversions. To reduce the amount you’ll pay in fees, try to withdraw just the right amount of money you’ll need for the duration of your trip. If you need to avoid freezing your card you have to tell you bank in your home country that you are in a trip so that they could detect a foreign transaction in Russia.

Currency Exchange in Russia

There are so many varoius currency exchange or money changers in the global cities. You know they all look different and independent and most of them have a board with their buy and sell prices in a list.

If you decide to bring some money into Russia, that would be great to get Euro and dollars to exchange into Russian rubles.

There are banks in which you can exchange money but currency exchangers tend to offer marginally better rates than banks as many banks charge high flat fees per transaction. Do not forget that banks only exchange currencies on weekdays.

Travellers Cheques

Few Russian traders will accept them and you may even have trouble changing them in a bank so your best bet is to avoid them altogether as they’re often more hassle than they’re worth.

Cash, Travelers Cheques, Credit Cards in Russia

It is important to know that for initial expenses like food, transport, accommodation having some cash like 300 euros and the rest money on your credit card is enough when you are travelling to Russia. It is noticed that both the cards and cheques are not used in the countryside or small towns, so there you have to withdraw cash only.

Cash is used much more often than the cards, and if you’re outside of the big cities, take cash only because it will be hard to cash the cards or cheques. When it comes to strong currencies in Russia so many Russians are transferring their savings accounts in euros or at least US dollars, for this reason you will get a better exchange rate. Please, change your money better in US dollars or Euro but not in another currency because an exchange office will have some difficulties with changing and yet will not be in your favor. Also it is offered the best profitable exchange course in both Moscow and Saint Petersburg. For example, in Siberia your exchange rate will be losing over 3 %.

However, we admit that travelers’ cheques is a great and most secure option of keeping your money: you are the only one who can cash the cheques and if lost they can be reissued – just write down the numbers beforehand and keep them separate from the cheques. Please, remember that in Russia cheques can be refunded only in banks which have their opening hours from 9 until 18. In case if you need to buy a new cheque the bank charges commission like only 1 % and also if you need to refund the cheque the bank charges commission about 2-3 %. The widespread cheques in Russia are American Express. Your national bank should provide you some information on the addresses of banks which accept AMEX, Visa, Thomas Cook and other cheques. Normally they offer usually 3 % like the commission rates. Take into your consideration that there is no option for you to pay with travelers cheques in Russia, you can only take cash from them in banks. What is more, the recent customs regulations make it necessary to declare the cheques when you enter Russia.

Credit Cards. As soon as you come to the towns it will be difficult to you to use your credit card. However, when it comes to the big cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg and major Siberian cities, there is a lot of shops and restaurants that accept cards in the big cities.

If you don’t know where to look for bankomat, come to any big and expensive hotel. However, it’s better if you withdraw your money in the cash machine, which is at some bank’s office, in that case if your card gets swallowed you’ll deal with the problem faster.

Normally each bank takes 0 to 1% commission in case if you withdraw cash with card of foreign bank but your national bank charges from 2 to 5 euros for this operation.

Most of all you will get rubles, and most ATM accept MasterCard and Visa and sometimes Visa Electron and also Maestro.

Travelers’ Cards are the plastic cards that are combining traveler’s cheques and debit cards – you can cash them in the cash machines. For Visa Travel Money you may have many cards for one account and if it is stolen then you can reissue it with ease. When it comes to Visa Travel Money you pay 5 euros for opening it, then put a small amount of money on it, take your money on this card and finally chuck it. Each person who knows PIN may use this card and if you take your money from this card then you should pay 5 euros commission. Visa cards are accepted in an each corner of this world, happily you keep all your money on the Visa accounts, so it is easier for you to know how much money you have left on your account and if you loose your card you may reissue it only for 5 euros payment. You can easily go to the bank, pay 5 euros for getting this card, put some cash on it, send this card by post, send your PIN code via email, and a person gets this card, gets the PIN, go to bankomat and withdraw money. After this operation it is impossible to use this card anymore.

If you want to use your bank cards in Russia it can be done too. Among them there is a range of debit, credit and prepaid cards. All you need just here is to consider fees and charges you might incur.

Debit Cards

If you need to take your cash from the ATM then you should use a debit card. Do not forget of the fees if you want to pay with your debit card in some places in the big cities.

All the fees are charged by foreign ATM or currency conversions but fortunately some banks act differently, so our best advice you here is to check out Wise ING and Revolut that have good debit cards to waive these charges.

Credit Cards

Credit cards can come with the advantages added security, loyalty programs, and sometimes free travel insurance.

Is it really good or not?

It is often a surcharge that you need to pay to local businesses like hostels, restaurants, chain stores.

Most of all there are Visa and Mastercard accepted, and sometimes you may use American Express Cards but local ATMs won’t accept them.

Please remember of the charges that you need to give for foreign transactions. Among them are followed:

• international transaction fees;
• high exchange rate margins;
• ATM fees;
• potential ‘cash advance fees’ if you use an ATM.

If you want to pay with your credit cards then follow with a company that offers credit card that waive your travel fees. From our consideration, there are two pretty good cards like Bankwest Platinum and 28 Degrees.

Prepaid Travel Cards

The next nice option may be prepaid travel cards because you may lock in a great exchange rate. You also get a handy back-up card.

Although they are nice to use but you can pay a lot of fees and among them are followed:

• currency conversion fees;
• uncompetitive exchange rates;
• international ATM withdrawal fees;
• initial load fees;
• reload fees;
• inactivity fees.

How to Buy Russian Ruble Before Your travel

If you live in another country that Russia it can be a difficult issue for you to buy Russian ruble. There are three various options if you want to buy Russian Ruble before your trip to Russia:

• buy rubles online and have it delivered or collect it in-store;
• swap euros or dollars for Russian Rubles from a money changer;
• buy Russian Rubles at your home airport.

Try to use S Money online currency exchange store with the best rates you can expect.

The second thing is you need to consider the processing time if it comes to online delivery or in-store pickup because it takes 2 or 5 days to process your currency. If you choose in-store currency exchange then go to the CBD to have low rates and fees in your city.

The poorest option here is to come to the currency exchange counters in the airports because their exchange rates are the highest.

The Average Costs to come to Russia:

If you want to get more savings during your trip to Russia then you need to set up your budget fixed as far as possible.

To help you to get a low budget we have listed the average prices of typical items and services you will have in Russia. We accurately calculated your budget that limits to 120 euros like this:

• average cost of your living in Russia is 80 euros;

• average cost of food in Russia is 8 euros;

• average cost of beer in Russia is 5 euros;

• average cost of transport in Russia is 7 euros;

• average cost of activities in Russia is 20 euros.

Tax-free shopping

If you want to pay over 10 000 rubles per day at the same store in Russia then you will get a refund 18 % of your purchase. Some shops in Russia are tax-free operators and have a special sign or logo. Please, don’t forget to fill in a tax-free form. And ,please, do not forget that there is only 3 months from the purchase date to have tax-free item. There is also a receipt in addition to your tax-free form. So, you need to demonstrate the items you purchased, the receipts, tax-free checks and finally your passport to the customs officer when you leave through the border checkpoints.

The most widespread tax-free operators are followed like HiSky, Global Blue and Premier TaxFree.

Bargaining

You know there are fixed prices in Russian shops but if you purchase a lot or at high prices you may ask for a small discount. The next positive moment of bargaining in Russia is that you can ask a lot of discounts at the markets. But when it comes to the souvenir shops there are all the expensive items with no bargaining. There is also no bargaining in taxi because prices are low most of all. We truly advise you to use UBER or Yandex taxi because of the low prices.

Tipping

The normal percentage of tipping in Russian restaurants is from 10 to 20. Sometimes it happens that cafes and restaurants include tips into the bill. When it comes to the tour guides, they accept tips in cash. The percentage of tipping depends on how you like their services. As for the drives you can give your tips via the mobile app and we suppose that 5 % of the bill is really enough.