Most European trips involve one currency to think about. This one involves two, and one of them is issued by a country most of the world does not recognise, was briefly made of plastic, and cannot be exchanged anywhere outside Transnistria. Here is what you actually need to know before you go.
Most European trips involve one currency to think about. This trip involves two, and one of them is one of the more obscure European currencies, is sometimes made of plastic, and has very limited use anywhere else on the planet.
Here’s what you actually need to know before you go.
Quick Answers
The Moldovan Leu
The Transnistrian Ruble
Exchange practicalities
A Practical Budget Note
Why It’s Worth Knowing Before You Go
Moldova’s currency, the leu (meaning “lion,” the same root as Romania’s currency), has been in circulation since 1993, replacing the Soviet ruble after independence.
It comes in banknotes from 1 to 1000 lei and with coins for smaller denominations. It floats freely against major currencies and there are many places to exchange EUR, USD, and other major currencies throughout the country.
Euros and US dollars can be exchanged easily at banks and licensed exchange bureaus (marked casa de schimb valutar) throughout Chișinău and other cities, generally at fair, transparent rates.
The days of Moldova’s black-market exchange culture are gone, so no need to seek out a better rate than that offered by the nearest kiosk. Cards are increasingly accepted in the capital’s restaurants, hotels, and larger shops, but cash remains essential for markets, small cafés, marshrutka (minibus) fares, and is convenient for most small payments.
ATMs are plentiful in Chișinău and generally offer decent rates, though it’s worth using bank-affiliated machines over independent ones to avoid excessive fees.
This is where things get genuinely unusual.
Transnistria, unrecognised by any UN member state, nonetheless issues its own currency through its own central bank, and in one of the more novel monetary experiments anywhere in the world, some of its coins are made of plastic rather than metal.
This innovation was introduced in the 2010s partly as a practical, low-cost alternative to minting and partly, one suspects, because a state that prints its own money likes to make sure people notice. However these plastic coins are not really in circulation anymore and exist only as souvenirs.
Produced in low numbers and thus increasing scarce, they are usually packages and sold at far above face value for tourist souvenirs, rather than found in the change you may get from making a purchase.
Coins are used in the PRM, but they are round, metal, and more conventional than they once could have become.
The Transnistrian ruble is not convertible outside Transnistria in any meaningful sense, and banks and exchange bureaus elsewhere, including in Chișinău, simply won’t take it.
Within Transnistria, however, it’s the default currency for anything beyond a symbolic tourist purchase, and you’ll need some for buses, markets, and smaller establishments, even though larger shops, restaurants, and the Kvint cognac shop in Tiraspol will often accept Moldovan lei, and sometimes euros or US dollars, directly.
Kiosks dotted around settlements, exchange booths at the Tiraspol bus and train stations, and at the Kvint shop downtown, are the most reliable places to change money into Transnistrian rubles.
The sensible approach is to change a modest amount of cash on arrival, enough to comfortably cover a couple of days, and don’t overdo it.
Money can be changed back into Moldovan lei or other currencies of course, but more worn-out banknotes may be less welcome at exchange booths, even if they originated there.
Both currencies go a long way by Western European standards.
A meal in a good Chișinău restaurant, or a bottle of excellent local wine or cognac in most of Moldova or the PMR will all cost a fraction of their equivalents in Paris, London, or Berlin.
This is one of the most affordable corners of Europe left to explore, currency oddities notwithstanding.
Carrying two currencies may sound like a hassle, and in the abstract, it is one more thing to plan around.
In practice, it’s a fairly small logistical footnote to what is otherwise one of the more memorable travel experiences you can have, and of course was more than normal only a couple of decades ago when doing any travel across borders in Europe.
Coming home with a handful of plastic Transnistrian coins, or some low-value interesting banknotes to gift to friends or use as bookmarks, makes for a simple and fun memento of a trip to Moldova and the PMR.
[email protected] | + 86 10 6416 7544
WhatsApp (message only): +44 7822 014058