Currency
Legal tender in Ukraine is the hyrvnia (UAH), pronounced gryvnya. There are 100 kopecks in a hyrvnia.
Notes come in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 200 hyrvnia. There are 50, 25, 10, 5, 2 and 1 kopeck coins.
Currency exchange booths are prevalent in Kiev. They are found on almost every major street and in most hotels. Exchange rates are clearly displayed on boards. Worn and tattered notes are commonly rejected.
ATM’s
ATM’s (known locally as bankomats) are commonplace throughout Kiev and the Ukraine. Good places to find them include hotel lobbies, McDonald’s and Metro stations.
Credit Cards
MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted at most hotels and upmarket restaurants.
Always let your credit card or debit card company know you are travel to the Ukraine or any other CIS country. It’s a 2 minute phone call before you leave and could possibly save you some major hassles. It is very common to have your CC company suspend your card if you use it in Ukraine. Also make sure to check the ATM you are using for 2nd scanners or cameras, these scams used to take place a lot in Kyiv – not so much anymore. Use an enclosed ATM – they are becoming more common in Kyiv as Euro banks by out the local banks or one with 24/7 security.
And yes, if you want to live like a Western Kyiv will be very expensive. As a local, not so much.
Make sure you take your mobile phone with home country phone SIM card installed when drawing money/making purchases on your credit card. I withdrew some money from a bank in Kiev using my credit card and it set off some sort of automatic anti-fraud system that resulted in a call from my bank’s credit card department. Had I not answered the phone and verified the transaction was valid, my credit card would have been suspended.
Pirate copies of computer software are also a good (but illegal) bargain. You can pick up copies of almost any software package for just a couple of dollars at almost any market.
Although prices have increased in Kiev, recently lots of things are still really cheap. These include train, bus and Metro tickets, museums, haircuts, vodka etc. Live like the locals do and you won’t go wrong.