Any traveler that goes to Russia will need roubles (рубль, рубли) – Russian money. Now you can pay for anything only with roubles in Russia. In the 1990-s there was a period of time after the Soviet Union collapse when only dollars were accepted everywhere, especially in Moscow. However, as time passed and roubles gained higher value, they again became the only currency accepted in Russia.

       You should know several things before going to Russia about exchanging money. First of all, credit cards are not widely-used in Russia yet. You can pay with them Mostly in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but not in other cities. Having enough cash is an essential survival rule in this country. Therefore, exchanging money is something no tourist can avoid. Banks in most cities do except credit/debit cards and traveler's checks, but if you want to buy something in a market place or pay for your dinner, always have Russian roubles with you.

       When exchanging money of your country for roubles, remember the following:

        Do not exchange money in the street. The best deal is usually in the banks anyway. People that exchange money in the street either work through banks, and therefore, have higher commissions, or can be dangerous.

        There are so many currency exchange offices on Moscow streets that after you walk on one street for a while you will see several places, can compare and choose the exchange rate that is most advantageous for you. However, the best exchange rate is always in SBERbank. SBERbank is the main bank of Russia. Here is the official site of SBERbank in English, where you can see constantly updated exchange rates : http://www.sbrf.ru/en/

        Usually banks and exchange offices only exchange dollars and euros. So before you go to Russia, exchange your local money into dollars or euros if your currency is something other than these two.

        It is easy to exchange Russian money into smaller bills. However, it is not easy to exchange foreign money into smaller bills as banks may not have small cash. Also if you are leaving Russia and want to exchange small Russian money into dollars or euros, you may not be able to do so, as banks usually do not have anything smaller than 20 and 100 bills.

        Learn Russian money and approximate prices for basic essentials before shopping and using ATMs. Russian ATMs give only rubles.