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Originally Posted by bernd s
Iran
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Bring cash. Dollars or Euros will do. Debit or credit cards won't work, nor will Paypal or other payment systems that have any presence in the US. (*)
Use small forex shops, not banks. The banks use government rates which are a lot worse than the real international rates. Forex shop rates are closer.
If you don't want to carry a lot of cash all the time, some Iranian banks like Meli bank offer short term accounts with tourist bank cards.
(*) in a pickle you can get cash using common credit cards like Visa or Mastercard or Paypal but not through official channels. Some carpet shops in tourist hotspots offer it as a service but at a considerable administration cost. Some forex shops in Theran also offer it but not at the shop itself. Look for shops with small Visa or Mastercard logo somewhere inconspicuous. They will provide you with an address to an anonymous flat filled with computers on a permanent VPN connection to the rest of the world. You do a transfer to a foreign account (usually in Germany) and get cash in return. administration fee can be up to 10%.
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