Understanding Iranian Currency: A Quick Guide for Visitors
We understand that Iran’s currency can be a bit confusing for foreigners—perhaps even very confusing! In this article, we aim to provide a brief explanation to help you get familiar with it. Based on our experience, most foreign tourists start to get the hang of it by the end of their trip to Iran.
The official currency in Iran is Rial, but there’s another unit commonly used in everyday transactions called Toman. One Toman equals 10 Rials, and it’s what people use in their daily lives.
In recent years, due to various political and economic conditions, Iran has experienced significant inflation. This has led to higher and higher prices for goods. For convenience, Iranians sometimes drop four zeros from large figures during transactions.
For example:
If a burger costs 2,200,000 Rials, this equals 220,000 Tomans. To make it even simpler, they might just refer to it as 220.
So, if you see an item priced at 450 on a restaurant menu, it actually means 450,000 Tomans, or 4,500,000 Rials.
If you’re ever confused, don’t hesitate to ask a local for help. Rest assured, they’ll be more than happy to assist you!
Iranian Banknotes and Their Values
Here’s a quick guide to Iran’s banknotes, ranked by their nominal values:
- 10,000 Rial Note (1,000 Toman): The least valuable.
- 20,000 Rial Note (2,000 Toman).
- 50,000 Rial Note (5,000 Toman).
- 100,000 Rial Note (10,000 Toman).
- 500,000 Rial Bank Check (50,000 Toman).
- 1,000,000 Rial Bank Check (100,000 Toman).
- 2,000,000 Rial Bank Check (200,000 Toman): The most valuable.
Note: While smaller denominations are used in everyday transactions, the larger bank checks (traveler’s checks) are more common for larger sums due to inflation.
Important Notes about Currency and Transactions in Iran
- Coins are not commonly used in Iran. They are practically obsolete in daily transactions.
- Banknotes and cards dominate transactions. Due to the large volume of cash needed for purchases, 99% of Iranians use bank cards for their daily transactions and rarely carry physical cash.
- International cards are not accepted. Due to sanctions, international bank cards such as Mastercard and Visa cannot be used in Iran. However, in some large stores, particularly those dealing in luxury items like carpets or gold, international cards might be accepted via partnerships with businesses outside Iran. This is usually for high-value transactions and requires prior arrangements.
With the Challenges of Using Iranian Currency for Foreign Tourists, We Have a Solution!
Understanding the difficulties foreign tourists face when handling Iranian currency, we have prepared services that allow you to easily use bank cards during your stay.
For more details and to find out how you can benefit from this service, read this article.
