Money in Iran

The most important thing for every tourist in Iran is money. Due to the American sanctions, Iran does not have access to the international banking system. So international credit cards like visa and master cards are useless in Iran. Everywhere you go, have cash. Shops, public transportation, hotels and restaurants will only accept cash or Iranian debit cards.

Make sure you’ve got enough money in Iranian Rial or US dollar.

What is Iran’s currency?

Iranian Rial (IRR)(in Farsi: ریال) is the official currency in Iran. all notes are printed in Iranian Rial. But in Iran absolutely no one talks about Rial in every conversation. “So what currency do they use?” The answer is Toman.

It’s a little confusing, you are right. But we will tell you how to understand.

Toman is just another way to tell the price of goods and services.

Here is the trick: whatever it is in Iranian Rial, delete one zero of the amount and you have the price in Toman and vice versa.

Be Aware, Iranian almost omit “Thousand”, Like “5 Toman” will in fact be “5,000 Toman”.

Note: some hotels and hostels in Iran accept US dollar or Euro. But make sure you have some of your cash exchanged in Iranian money. 

Where can I Exchange my money in Iran?

All the big cities in Iran have official money exchange places. These shops are called “Saraffi” and there are boards and monitors showing the current exchange rate like Euro, US dollar. You can find the best places for Exchange or “Saraffi’s” in Tehran is Ferdowsi Sq.

What are Iranian Bank Notes and coins?

Coins: 500 IRR (50 Tomans), 1000 IRR (100 Tomans), 2000 IRR (200 Tomans), 5000 IRR (500 Tomans)

Bank Notes: 2000 IRR (200 Tomans), 5000 IRR (500 Tomans), 10000 IRR (1000 Tomans), 20000 IRR (2000 Tomans), 50000 IRR (5000 Tomans), 100000 IRR (10000 Tomans)

Value in Toman	Value in IRR	Reverse	Obverse
200 Tomans	2000 IRR
500 Tomans	5000 IRR
500 Tomans	5000 IRR
500 Tomans	5000 IRR
1000 Tomans	10000 IRR
2000 Tomans	20000 IRR
2000 Tomans	20000 IRR
5000 Tomans	50000 IRR
10000 Tomans	100000 IRR

Some pictures can be helpful to identify the Bank Notes currently used in Iran

In Iran you may will hear “Teravel”. It’s an Iranian Cheque that people call it Travel. There are two types of Teravels: 500000 IRR (50,000 Tomans) and 1000000 IRR (100,000 Tomans).