Frequently Asked Questions

7 important rules for currency exchange in Tajikistan:

1. Compare rates — use our website to search for best rate in Dushanbe banks
2. Avoid airport — rate at Dushanbe airport is 3-5% worse than in city
3. Exchange at major banks — Amonatbonk, Spitamen Bank, Eskhata Bank — most reliable
4. Beware of "black market" — illegal exchange offices can cheat
5. Check bills against light — counterfeits occur
6. Demand receipt — by law, exchange office must issue receipt
7. Large amounts — only at bank — for exchanges from $500+ go to bank branch

Best places in Dushanbe: Rudaki Avenue, Sadbarg shopping center, Somoni district.

Yes, but not everywhere.

Where possible:

• Major banks in Dushanbe (Amonatbonk, Spitamen Bank, Eskhata Bank) exchange rubles for dollars
• Commission (spread): 3-5% — one of the highest in the region

Where not possible:

• Many exchange offices don't work with rubles due to sanctions
• In regions (Khujand, Kulob) rubles are accepted reluctantly

Exchange scheme:

• Usually through somoni: rubles → somoni → dollars
• Double commission makes exchange unprofitable

Tip: If bringing rubles to Tajikistan — better to first exchange them for dollars in Russia, it's more profitable.

Yes, very profitable to plan exchange in advance!

Before holidays (Navruz March 21-23, Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha, New Year) demand for dollars skyrockets. Rate worsens by 2-4%.

March-April — most tense time, Navruz — main holiday. Exchange currency in February.

December — before New Year demand grows. Exchange in November.

Summer (June-August) — many Tajik labor migrants return home, bring currency. Rate slightly better.

Recommendation: Plan exchange 2-3 weeks before major holidays.

Extremely risky!

In Tajikistan there is a "black market" for currency exchange where they offer rate slightly better than banks. But risks are enormous:

Dangers:

• Fake bills (fake $100 bills often encountered)
• Short-changing — they give less than promised
• No receipt — no evidence of exchange
• Illegal — you can get fined

Legal options:

• Licensed banks (Amonatbonk, Spitamen Bank, Eskhata Bank)
• Official exchange offices with NBT license

Tip: Don't save 0.1-0.2 somoni on rate, it's not worth risk of getting counterfeit or being cheated.

This is not quite true — rate seems stable but slowly declines.

Why rate is relatively predictable:

• NBT control — National Bank of Tajikistan actively manages rate through interventions
• Money transfers — $2-2.5 billion per year (about 30% of GDP) stabilize rate
• Dollar peg — NBT tries to keep rate in narrow corridor

But in reality:

• Somoni depreciates 3-5% annually
• Over 10 years (2015-2025): rate grew from 6.5 to 10.8 somoni per dollar (by 66%)
• Inflation in Tajikistan 8-10% per year weakens somoni

Conclusion: Rate stability is an illusion. Somoni slowly but constantly depreciates.

Currency choice is critically important with inflation of 8-10%:

US dollars — best option for long-term savings. Protect against somoni devaluation. Dollar deposits: 1.5-3% per year.

Tajik somoni — deposits with 14-18% interest per year. But inflation 8-10% reduces real return to 4-8%.

Russian rubles — make sense only if you regularly send money to Russia or receive from there. Risk of ruble devaluation is high.

Gold — traditional savings method in Central Asia. You can buy gold coins at National Bank or jewelry.

Financial experts' advice: Optimal savings structure — 60% dollars, 30% somoni (on deposit), 10% gold.

This is a daily reference rate set by the National Bank of Tajikistan based on foreign exchange market analysis and interbank trading.

Important to understand: Commercial banks are NOT obligated to exchange at NBT rate. They set their own rates and add margin of 2-4%.

Official NBT rate: nbt.tj (http://nbt.tj)

Typical picture:

• NBT rate: 10.75 somoni per $1
• Bank purchase rate: 10.50 somoni
• Bank sale rate: 11.00 somoni
• Spread: 0.50 somoni (4.6%)

Spread in Tajikistan one of the highest in the region due to limited foreign exchange market.

Remittances — foundation of Tajik economy!

Scale:

• $2-2.5 billion in remittances flow to Tajikistan annually
• This is 28-30% of GDP!
• 90% of remittances — from Russia

Impact on rate:

• Many remittances → dollar inflow → somoni strengthens
• Few remittances → currency deficit → somoni weakens

Seasonality:

• May-October — remittance peak (labor migrants actively working) → somoni stable
• November-March — fewer remittances → pressure on somoni

Risk: If ruble falls sharply or migration from Tajikistan to Russia declines, somoni can sharply weaken by 10-15%.

Conclusion: Somoni rate practically completely depends on remittances from Russia.

We update rates every 2-3 hours during bank working hours (from 9:00 to 17:00 Dushanbe time).

Data sources:

• Official bank websites
• Phone calls to exchange offices
• NBT data (National Bank of Tajikistan)

Feature: In Tajikistan rate changes less frequently than in neighboring countries. NBT actively manages rate, so there are usually no sharp fluctuations within the day.

On weekends data is rarely updated as most banks are closed.

Several possible reasons:

• Different update time — our data was updated 2-3 hours ago, but bank just changed rate
• Regional differences — rate in Dushanbe is better than in Khujand, Kulob or other cities (difference up to 0.2-0.3 somoni)
• Dollar availability — if bank runs out of dollars, sale rate sharply worsens
• Amount size — for exchanges of large amounts ($1000+) banks give individual rate

If you see discrepancy more than 0.3-0.5 somoni — inform us, we'll check!

Yes! The website is fully optimized for smartphones.

TheMoney Tajikistan mobile app (in development):

Planned features:

• Push notifications on rate changes
• Currency calculator (somoni, dollar, ruble, euro)
• Rate history for year
• Map of exchange offices in Dushanbe
• Offline mode

Until app is available — use mobile website version, it works great.

Telegram bot @TheMoney_tj_bot:

• /rate — current dollar to somoni rate
• /subscribe — subscription for daily newsletter at 10:00
• Free and ad-free

On website:

• Email newsletter in development

In mobile app (soon):

• Push notifications when rate changes more than 0.1 somoni