Many travelers going to Uzbekistan wonder how best to pay for purchases and services in the country. We have prepared a guide on the currency and bank cards working in the country. At the end of the article, we will briefly talk about the process of obtaining plastic cards in local banks.
Uzbek sum (UZS) and math with zeros
The national currency of Uzbekistan is the Uzbek sum. Surely it will be unusual for many tourists at first to operate with local prices: they are measured in thousands, and even millions of sums. For convenience of conversion, you can use the following rule: if you want to convert sums to dollars, you can drop three zeros in the amount and divide the total by 12 (approximate exchange rate of May 2026). So, for example, 200 000 sums is about 16 dollars and 66 cents.
Currency Converter
There are several types of cash banknotes in Uzbekistan, from 1 000 to 200 000 sums. There is also metal money in the country, but it is most often used only for small change.
What to travel with: Cash vs Cards
Despite the fact that in many places in Uzbekistan you can easily pay with a bank card, it is better for travelers from other countries to have cash with them. It can be useful in bazaars or in small towns. Locals often use card-to-card transfer systems, but they only work for "plastic" issued in the country. Many guests of the country choose a combination of cash dollars and some international bank card. The country accepts Visa, Mastercard. In many places, you can pay with UnionPay cards.
You can exchange currency at bank branches (often a passport will be required for these operations) or in specialized ATM exchangers. Keep in mind that many bank branches close for lunch, do not work until late in the evening and do not work on weekends. They also write on the Internet that old-style bills may not be accepted from you.
Travelers arriving in Uzbekistan will probably notice that near some markets you can meet people offering currency exchange by hand. They write on the Internet that this can be unprofitable or even illegal.
You can withdraw cash sums from international bank cards at any ATMs. There is a withdrawal fee here, but it is quite small. There are quite a lot of ATMs in the country (especially in Tashkent), but you can find maps of bank branches on their official websites in advance, in almost any case there will be ATMs there too.
You can pay for purchases by card in many shops, museums, restaurants, and cafes. If you pay with a Visa card at self-service points, sometimes you may be offered a choice of payment system. You will need to choose the HUMO option.
An interesting feature of the country is voicing the PIN code to the seller. At some points, an employee may ask for your card and ask you to name the PIN, they will enter it themselves. It is quite safe in the country, locals have long been accustomed to this approach, but if you are worried about the safety of funds, you can enter your code yourself.
How to issue a bank card in Uzbekistan
If tourists want to issue an international bank card in Uzbekistan, they most often go to "Kapitalbank" — there they issue cards to non-residents of the country and accept hotel registration.
If you are staying at a hotel, you can ask the staff to make a registration for the duration of your stay — this document is a piece of paper with printed data and a QR code.
After that, you need to get a local SIM card, this can be done in operators' salons or at small points of sale. Operators have different tariffs. You can choose the cheapest of them. Travelers often make a mistake and forget about the SIM card after returning to their country. But in this case, when changing the phone or logging out of the bank application, it will be impossible to log back in. It is worth keeping the SIM card in working condition — sending an SMS or making a call once every few months. It is better to find out about the conditions for disconnecting unused cards from operators. After receiving a PINFL (next paragraph), you should return to the communication salon so that specialists link the document to your account, so that the SIM card is not considered a tourist one and does not disconnect.
The next step is getting a PINFL (personal identification number of a natural person). This can be done at the Public Services Centers of the city districts or the departments of migration and citizenship registration of internal affairs bodies. Their addresses can be found on online maps. There are two options for obtaining a PINFL: the usual one, in a day (the document is issued for free, receipt takes place the next day), and an accelerated issue for an additional fee. It is better to find out the cost in advance. According to tourists, the cost of an accelerated receipt of a PINFL in May 2026 was 426 000 sums.
After issuing a PINFL and a SIM card, you can go to a bank branch. Non-residents have access to both international bank cards in sums, dollars, and euros, and cards of local bank systems Humo and UZCARD. The cost of issuing a UZCARD card in May 2026 was 50 000 sums, international cards are issued for free.
The time of card issuance should be taken into account. In many branches, they will prepare a card for you in half an hour. But card production machines are not available in all offices. In some cases, you can apply for a card in one branch and pick it up at another address. Issue rules change frequently, we recommend checking current requirements in advance.
Have a good trip!