New Foreign Currency exchange rules in Ukraine

[Kineo]

 
I am in Ukraine now. I went to exchange US currency and could not. Some new rule went into effect about two weeks ago. My UW had to get it exchanged for me with her passport. (not a problem) Does anyone here have the scoop on this?

[Hammer2722]

Yes, now the rule is you have to have a form of ID to exchange money but I have been reading now that some exchanges are even refusing to exchange money from foreigners without a Ukrainian passport.
 
The problem is that the new law put out by the government is so confusing that not all money exchanges will operate the same. My advice is to try and hit as many of the money exchanges as posibble till one accepts it.

[Kineo]

I was fortunately my UW was able to get the exchange done. After some search I found this article which pretty much confirm this.
http://www.kyivpost.com/news/business/bus_general/detail/113857/
 

[Hammer2722]

Yup, I read the same article last week. Its good that your girl can change the money for you. I'll be heading to Lviv this December and will plan on have my girl do the money changing as well. Count on Ukraine's Govt. to botch things up!!!! LOL

[BillyB]

Another case of crap happening in the FSU

[Kineo]

Update, In Dnepropetrovsk anyway, good luck exchanging American dollars with a foreign passport. It seems any legit place will accept only Ukainian passports.

[Jack]

wow, what a difference two weeks make.   Two weeks ago in Dnepropetrovsk, not a problem using American passport to exchange dollars for grivnas.  Now to hear this from you today, unbelievable.

I do hear all this is going to end soon as Yanucrookvych cannot have this system in place when Euro 2012 begins.

Now to hear something a little funny.  The marriage agencies in Ukraine love dollars.  When you pay for any services, if it's for an interpreter, or for a meeting, or driver, or flat, for anything, they love to be paid in dollars.  Two and three weeks ago I heard something different for the first time.  Agencies were asking me, and the men, if we could pay with grivnas.    Now they prefer grivnas over dollars.  Why?   Now that the Government  is trying to keep some type of records as to who is exchanging dollars, the marriage agencies do not want to be showing up on computer time and time again with exchanging dollars.   

Hummm, ... dollars, ... taxes, ..... maybe.

[mendeleyev]

Has this had an effect on something like a simple withdrawal of funds from an ATM?

[Muzh]

Has this had an effect on something like a simple withdrawal of funds from an ATM?

Jim, if you read the KP article, it appears so.

[Kineo]

I am told that I could withdraw in hryvnias. But, I have not tried withdrawing from an ATM. Which makes sense. From what I understand the government is trying to control the number of American dollars and other foreign currency circulating in Ukraine.

[Handycam72]

I was in Crimea just a week ago and found no problems at ATMs for withdrawing UAH. I have no experience of changing dollars as I always use the ATM. Some ATMs were still offering Dollars.
 
I did notice though longer queues at the exchange booths, and a few had actually closed down.
 
Maybe it is just me, but there also appeared to be more Police on the streets than had been previous times, I only been there 9 weeks earlier.
 

[Kineo]

ATMs were still offering Dollars.

I don't think Dollars are available here in Dnepr at the ATMs

I did notice though longer queues at the exchange booths, and a few had actually closed down.

Quite a few of the exchange booths are closed here.
 

Maybe it is just me, but there also appeared to be more Police on the streets than had been previous times, I only been there 9 weeks earlier.

I have noticed a quite a few police here. Though I have not past experience to compare it to.
 

[Hammer2722]

I don't think Dollars are available here in Dnepr at the ATMs
 
Quite a few of the exchange booths are closed here.
 I have noticed a quite a few police here. Though I have not past experience to compare it to.

Good luck trying to get dollars out of any ATM's. This has been like this even before this new law came out. Each of my trips to Odessa and Lviv, the ATMs had no dollars to give out so I could only withdraw in grivnas.

[mendeleyev]

Makes sense that is the currency you'd use for spending anyway. So, it is possible to easily access an ATM for obtaining funds to use locally?

[Vinnvinny]

Makes sense that is the currency you'd use for spending anyway. So, it is possible to easily access an ATM for obtaining funds to use locally?

I haven't had a problem getting hryvnias from ATM's or exhanging pounds or dollars provided I present my passport.

[ECOCKS]

Makes sense that is the currency you'd use for spending anyway. So, it is possible to easily access an ATM for obtaining funds to use locally?

Lots of confusion on this new law. At first, they were making copies of the ID's presented but that stopped pretty quickly. Lots of confusion down  to street level.

 So, spend dollars instead of gryvnia (not a problem for most places when renting apts, hiring a car, etc.), use your credit cards, exchange currencies with friends and relatives or use ATM's to withdraw gryvnia.

This doesn't seem to be all that big a problem except for expats.

[civi68]

I just got back from Dnepropetrovsk. Some exchanges allowed you to exchange while other didn't. After I found the ones that did, there was no problem.