Iran currency
According to newest laws on May 7 , 2020 the Official Iran currency is Toman. Iran currency changed from Iranian Rials to Iranian Toman. In 4 years Iranian Rials notes will be collected by government. There are no more confusion and complication about Iran currency and Iran money.
The government decided to remove 4 zeros from Iran currency to decrease inflation. This takes 4-5 years to completely be done, so you should read this article to know about Iranian Rial and Iranian Toman.
In this article we are trying to explain two things:
- We are going through Iranian money and currency, how to count and pronounce it.
- Diferrences between Iranian Rial & Iranian Toman
- How to convert Rial to Toman or reverse.
- We are going to talk about costs in Iran and how much money do you need for your trip based on your budget.
Iran currency history
After Iran’s revolution and the Iraq war, there were a lot of sanctions against Iran which caused inflation until now. This devaluation of Iran’s currency led to too many zeros in Iranian Rials which makes it hard to read. Iran has two currencies Which are so strange.
The currency of Iran is Rial and the other one is Toman which is unofficial ( from May 7 it the official). Toman is used by locals to make it easier for them to read and write. When locals want to read Iranian Rials, they remove last zero and then they call it Toman.
Convert Rial to Toman
10,000 Rials = 1000 Toman
Iranian Rials = Toman *10
When you shop at groceries, restaurants, malls, bazaars, your receipt will be written in Rials but they read it in Toman. Although some restaurant and shops print their receipt in Toman which is very rare. They always print the symbol in front of the receipt.
This is Toman symbol:
تومان
This is Rial symbol:
ریال
At first, when you arrive Iran currency is confusing but you get used to the term of Toman. There are coins in Iran currency which some of them are so rare. 100, 200, 500 Iranian rials which are so rare. 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000 Iranian Rials.
These coins are marked in Farsi, so we recommend you to learn to read Farsi numeral.
Toman is used by locals to count money easier; however, sometimes locals they remove the term “thousand” in their conversation especially when the price is lower than 50,000 Toman. For example, if a taxi driver shows you five finger he means 5000 Toman or shopkeeper often says “10 Tomans” or “20 Tomans” they mean “10,000 Toman” or “20,000 Tomans”. It is hard to say “thousands” in everyday conversations.
Don’t get frustrated. Iranian people are so kind if they figure out that you didn’t understand they will use “thousands”. If you get confused just write down the price on paper or your phone’s calculator and check it is Toman or Rials?
Iran money
Bringing cash in US dollars, Euros, UAE dirham, Turkish lira, Malaysian ringgit is the most important thing you have to do because Iran is a cash country. Other major currencies, such as British pounds, Australian or Canadian dollars, Swiss francs, Iraq dinar can be changed in Tehran and other big cities if not smaller towns. However, other currencies are not accepted in exchange offices.
It’s better to have dollars and Euro because they would trade easier in exchange shops. You can exchange your money in Hotels, Airport, Banks and exchange offices, but we recommend you to exchange your money in exchange offices or use IntravelCard because of its great rate. Here we explained why you should not exchange in airport or banks.
Sanctions mean your credit card, debit card, traveler cheques are not useful in Iran, so don’t bother to bring it with yourself. Although some carpet shops accept credit cards, there will be a 10% commission rate on your receipt, so bring enough cash.
You can get an Iranian Prepaid Travel Card which is issued to tourists so they don’t need to carry cash anymore. You can exchange your currency to Iranian rials, load it to the IntravelCard and have a local prepaid travel card which is accepted everywhere in Iran.
If your IntravelCard and cash run out, don’t worry we can arrange a money transfer to your IntravelCard.
ATMs in Iran
You cant use your credit or master card in ATMs in Iran but if you have IntravelCard, you can access any ATM to withdraw cash. You can find ATMs in any street, you can choose English as your language when using ATMs.
Exchange rate in Iran
While exchange offices and IntravelCard corp are allowed to trade currencies at market rates, exchanging money on the street is illegal. When a random guy stops by you and wants to trade your money is illegal and also normal in Iran and , but don’t trust them because probably they are gonna give you fake money. Usually, the exchange offices working hours are:
10 AM-4 PM Saturday through Wednesday
10 AM – 2 PM on Thursdays
IntravelCard working hours is 24/7 and you can load Iranian currency to your IntravelCard in less than a day, so you don’t need to worry about closed exchange offices when you ran out of Iranian Rials.
Exchange rate in the black market and the official rate
Due to economy inflation in Iran, the Iran government decided to have two rates for foreign currencies. The official rate and black market rate.
Usually, the black market rate is about 4 times greater than the official rate. You can exchange your currency at the black market rate in exchange offices.
Banks and airports exchange at the official rate that’s why you should not exchange your money in airports and banks. For example, the official exchange rate for dollar and euro is about:
1 USD = 42,000 IRR or 4,200 T (Toman)
1 EURO = 50,000 IRR or 5,000 T (Toman)
while the black market rate is about:
1 USD = 154,000 IRR or 15,400 T (Toman)
1 EURO = 166,800 IRR or 16,680 T (Toman)
Costs in Iran
Iran is a cost-effective country. Due to economic inflation, Iran became one of the cost-effective top countries. no matter how much budget you have, Iran is the best place to travel. We are going to talk about your daily budget in Iran on top end:
A five-star hotel in Tehran or Esfahan: US$ 100 plus
The main meal in top Tehran restaurant: US$ 20-50
VIP buses ticket to different cities from Tehran: US$ 10
Sights fees: US$ 2
English known driver for a day: US$ 50-100
Airport Transfer to Hotel: US$ 25-30
Wrapping up
We tried to help you to understand more about Iran currency and costs in Iran. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask us.
By using IntravelCard, it is much easier to learn more about Iran currency and make purchases safer while traveling to Iran.
8 Comments
Thank you for your post. Iran currency was a little confusing for me, but i have some clue about iran currency now. So excited to see Iran
Hope to see You in Iran Alex
Hello… thanks for the information.
Where is possible to exchange money at black market rate?
Thanks 🙂
Hello Federico
Thank you for your comment. You can exchange money in local exchange offices at black market rate but their work hour is saturday-wednesday 8 AM to 4 PM and closed in weekends. Also you can use our service (IntravelCard) and we exchange money at the black market rate 24/7 and load it to a prepaid Travel card which is acceptable at any POS terminal in Iran, so your cash would be safe and refundable. Good Luck
Hi.
Where in Europe can I exchange old rial for new Toman.
Thank you.
NikoBaron
Hello NikoBaron
There is no need to change Iranian Rial with the Toman. The old Iran currency can be used in next four years which will be until 2024. Also you can use IntravelCard to exchange old rial and euros to the new Iran currency and shop using this prepaid card in Iran. At the end of your trip you can request your remaining balance of the card in euros.
Best Regards,
Where is Iran?
Iran is located in Middle East. Its neighbors are turkey, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and others. Persian gulf is located in the south of Iran and Caspian sea in the north.