Frequently Asked Questions

6 important rules for currency exchange in Kyrgyzstan:

1. Compare rates — our website collects rates from all major banks in Bishkek and Osh
2. Avoid Manas airport — rate there is 2-4% worse than in the city
3. Exchange at banks — Optima Bank, KICB, Dos-Kredobank offer honest rates
4. Bazaars with caution — at Dordoi and Osh bazaar there are illegal exchange offices
5. Check bills — fake $100 bills occur
6. Take receipt — official receipt is required by law

Best places to exchange in Bishkek: Chui Street (center), Vefa Center, Asia Mall.

Yes, absolutely freely! Kyrgyzstan is EAEU member, ruble exchange is not restricted.

Exchange options:

1. Directly — all major banks exchange rubles for dollars. Commission (spread): 2-3.5%.
2. Through som — rubles → som → dollars. This is not profitable due to double commission.

Where the best rate is:

• Optima Bank — best ruble rates in Bishkek
• KICB (Kicb.kg (http://Kicb.kg)) — honest rates, can check online
• Dos-Kredobank — good rates in regions

Life-hack: If you have Russian Visa/MasterCard card — withdraw rubles at ATM, then exchange. Sometimes more profitable than bringing cash.

Yes, this is critically important!

Before holidays (Nooruz March 21, Orozo Ait, Kurman Ait) demand for dollars rises sharply. Rate can worsen by 2-3 som.

New Year — also period of increased currency demand.

Summer season (June-August) — many tourists, dollar demand grows, som weakens.

Winter (December-February) — som usually strengthens due to declining imports and growing remittances before New Year.

Recommendation: Exchange dollars for som 4-5 days before major holidays. Exchange som for dollars in January-February.

Depends on the exchange office!

Legal exchange offices at bazaars (Dordoi, Osh) have NBKR license and are safe. Signs:

• License is visibly displayed
• They issue official receipt
• There is sign with name

Illegal "money changers" — dangerous:

• Offer "favorable" rate on street
• Don't give receipt
• May slip fake bills or short-change you

Recommendation: Exchange only at legal exchange offices with license. If you need large amount ($1000+) — go to bank.

The Kyrgyz som exchange rate depends on several factors:

• Money transfers — $2-2.5 billion in remittances flow to Kyrgyzstan per year (about 30% of GDP!), mainly from Russia
• Ruble rate — when ruble weakens, som often falls with it
• EAEU — as member of Eurasian Union, Kyrgyzstan depends on neighbors' economies
• Inflation — current inflation 10-12% per year weakens som
• Trade deficit — imports exceed exports 3-4 times
• NBKR policy — National Bank KR conducts interventions, but reserves are limited ($3 billion)

Forecast: NBKR tries to keep som in corridor of 85-90 som per dollar.

Choice of currency for savings depends on your goals:

US dollars — reliable protection against som devaluation. Dollar deposits: 2-4% per year at Kyrgyz banks.

Kyrgyz som — deposits with 12-16% interest per year. But inflation of 10-12% significantly reduces real income.

Russian rubles — make sense if you receive transfers from Russia or plan trips to Russia. Ruble deposits: 8-10%.

Gold — traditional savings method in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is one of the largest gold producers in the region.

Expert advice: Diversification — 40% dollars, 30% som (on deposit), 20% rubles, 10% cash gold or jewelry.

This is a daily reference rate set by the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic based on trading in the domestic foreign exchange market.

Important: Commercial banks can set their own rates different from NBKR rate. Usually they add margin of 1.5-3%.

Official NBKR rate: nbkr.kg (http://nbkr.kg)

Typical picture:

• NBKR rate: 87.50 som per $1
• Bank purchase rate: 86.00 som
• Bank sale rate: 89.00 som
• Spread: 3 som (3.4%)

Yes, and very strongly!

Facts:

• $2-2.5 billion in remittances flow to Kyrgyzstan per year
• This is about 30% of GDP!
• 80-90% of remittances — from Russia

How it works:

• When many remittances (May-October) → dollar inflow → som strengthens
• When few remittances (winter) → fewer dollars → som weakens
• If ruble falls → remittances in dollar equivalent decrease → som under pressure

2022 example: When ruble fell after sanctions, som weakened by 15% in a month as remittances from Russia declined.

Conclusion: Remittances from Russia — main factor for som rate (even more important than gold and exports).

We update rates every 1-2 hours during bank working hours (from 9:00 to 18:00 Bishkek time).

Data sources:

• Official bank websites
• Bank APIs (where available)
• Phone calls to exchange offices (for updates)

On weekends updates are less frequent — every 3-6 hours, as many exchange offices are closed.

Kyrgyzstan feature: Rate can change significantly during the day (by 1-2 som), so check relevance on our website before visiting bank.

Discrepancies are possible for several reasons:

• Update time — our website was updated an hour ago, but bank changed rate 15 minutes ago
• Regional difference — rate in Bishkek is better than in Osh, Jalal-Abad or regions (up to 1-2 som)
• Currency availability — if bank runs out of dollars, sale rate will be worse
• Type of exchange office — official exchange offices at bazaars may give worse rate than banks

If difference is more than 2-3 som — inform us, we'll check the data!

Yes! The website is optimized for phones and tablets.

TheMoney Kyrgyzstan mobile app:

• Push notifications about rates
• Currency calculator (som, dollar, ruble, euro, tenge, etc.)
• Rate history for month/year
• Home screen widget
• Map of exchange offices in Bishkek, Osh, Jalal-Abad
• Works offline

Download: Google Play, App Store

In mobile app:

1. Download TheMoney Kyrgyzstan (Android/iOS)
2. Settings → Notifications → Enable
3. Select currencies (USD, RUB, EUR)
4. Set threshold: "notify when rate change exceeds 1 som"

Telegram bot @TheMoney_kg_bot:

• Command /rate — current rate
• Command /subscribe — subscription for daily newsletter
• Bot is free

On website: Email newsletter in development.