Currency in Romania
Romania is one of the few countries on the European continent that is not part of the European Union. Accordingly, money in Romania remains, as before, national. We will briefly talk about what currency is in Romania.
From the history of money in Romania
The main means of payment in Romania is the leu, which is equal to 100 bani. This currency is relatively young, it was introduced in 1867. True, it became full-fledged only after 23 years, when the French francs finally ceased to officially circulate on the territory of the country. Romania's money was exchanged three times as a result of reforms, the last of which was carried out in 2005.
Today the following banknotes are in use in the country:
- 1 lei;
- 5 lei;
- 10 lei;
- 50 lei;
- 100 lei;
- 200 lei;
- 500 lei.
There is also a small change in circulation with denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 bani..
Customs regulations
Unlike many European countries, the import of currency into Romania is virtually unlimited. True, an amount exceeding the equivalent of 1,000 euros must be declared and it will no longer be possible to take out more money back. By the way, Romania's money cannot be exported outside the customs territory at all, and imported as much as necessary..
What to take with you
What currency to take to Romania is by no means an idle question and has its own background. Naturally, in this country, as elsewhere in Europe, you can easily exchange dollars or euros for local money. For this, in addition to banks, there are special exchange offices. However, the exchange rate in those places where tourists constantly stay or appear are often very high..
When exchanging foreign currency for lei, it makes sense to keep receipts - only in this case, when leaving the country, it is guaranteed that you can change Romanian money back to foreign.
Despite the fact that the country has long been considered quite civilized, currency exchange in Romania for foreigners is sometimes fraught with troubles - there are frequent cases of fraud, and even at the exchange offices themselves.
In general, in order not to worry about what currency is in Romania, not to suffer with exchangers, it is best to get a credit card. Its transportation, of course, is duty-free and unimpeded. Take advantage of «plastic» it is possible without any problems - cards in cities are accepted for payment everywhere, a network of ATMs is quite developed. True, in rural areas, as in Russia, for example, this no longer applies. To travel to any village (with the exception of resort areas), it is worth acquiring local cash.
