This is a cash country. Uzcard and Humo run the card system, a foreign Visa works in some Tashkent hotels and almost nowhere else, and the black market is a criminal offence rather than a bargain.
- Uzbekistan looks modern and pays like a cash economy. Uzcard and Humo run retail payment and your foreign card is not on them - assume it works nowhere outside international hotels.
- Bring US dollars as backup and check every note: they must be dated 2013 or later, unmarked and untorn. Older or worn notes are refused everywhere.
- Change money only at a bank or a licensed exchange office. Street changing is a criminal offence with harsh penalties, and the rate stopped being better in 2017.
- ATMs taking foreign cards are easy to find in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara and should be treated as absent in Nukus, the mountains and the small towns.
- Small notes matter. The largest is 200,000 som, taxi drivers and market sellers rarely have change, and bargaining belongs in the bazaar rather than in a shop.
Bring cash and expect to use it
Uzbekistan looks modern and pays like a cash economy. The domestic card networks, Uzcard and Humo, run almost all retail payment, and your foreign Visa or Mastercard is not on them.
- A foreign card works in international hotels, a few Tashkent restaurants and some larger supermarkets. Assume it works nowhere else.
- Bazaars, guesthouses, taxis, shared cars, museums and most restaurants are cash.
- Carry more som than feels reasonable. Running out in Bukhara on a Sunday is a real afternoon lost.
ATMs and exchange
- ATMs that accept foreign cards exist in Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara and are much easier to find than they were. Bank lobbies are the reliable ones.
- They are limited elsewhere. Nukus, Moynaq, the mountains and the small towns should be treated as having none.
- US dollars are the currency to bring as backup, in cash, and the notes must be dated 2013 or later, unmarked and untorn. Older or worn notes are refused everywhere.
- Change money only at a bank or a licensed exchange office. Street changers are a criminal offence with harsh penalties, and the rate they offer is no longer better than the bank's - the two-tier market that made it worthwhile ended in 2017.
- Keep the exchange receipts.
The notes themselves
- The som has been through heavy inflation and the notes reflect it. The largest is 200,000 som, and 100,000 and 50,000 notes are common.
- Small notes matter. Taxi drivers and market sellers routinely have no change for a large note.
- Count what you are handed. Not because of dishonesty, but because the arithmetic involves a lot of zeros.
Tipping and prices
- Tipping is not traditional and is becoming normal in tourist restaurants, at around 10 percent, and many now add a service charge instead - check the bill before adding anything.
- Round up for a taxi driver and that is all.
- Bargaining is expected in bazaars and for carpets and crafts, and is not expected in shops, restaurants or for a train ticket.
- Prices for foreigners at monuments are higher than for residents, which is posted and official rather than a scam.
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