How to change money in Kazakhstan and not to get tricked by scammers
Kazakhstan is the country where the money mess has been continuing for centuries.
Cross-border transfers without commission based on the blockchain — that's the nearest future. The p2p-web project AraneoBit is developing new areas in the CIS countries and Turkey, and will soon appear in Kazakhstan!
Kazakhstan is rich in delicious cuisine, breathtaking landscapes, endless steppes, snowy peaks, ”alpine meadows”, conservation areas, felt goods... and difficulties in currencies exchange. In the year dot, people were not puzzled by this problem: they could just pay with fur, pearls, and cattle. But it goes without saying that such payment options are not relevant nowadays — please, pay up!
Dirham or a couple of gold bars
Over five centuries money in Kazakhstan has changed many times: from dirhams to roubles. In the 5th century, BC people paid with gold and silver bars and traders ceased to practice barter deals.
Since the reign of the Mongols, gold dinars had been used on the territory of contemporary Kazakhstan. This currency faded away after the collapse of the Mongolian empire. Economic recovery occurred a bit later: a silver tanga first appeared in the era of Tamerlan. This money had been in use for 400 years. Then, many centuries later, Russian roubles appeared because Kazakhstan became a part of the USSR. Even after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the independent country continued to use this currency and didn’t hurry to introduce their own one. The national monetary unit of Kazakhstan called “Kazakhstani tenge” first appeared in 1993. In just a week, all residents of the country immediately moved to new money. That time the exchange rate was 1 tenge to 500 Russian roubles. Nowadays, in February 2018 you can get 5,5 tenge for 1 Russian rouble. Within the last five years, the rate has grown up to 0.73 units only.
Years later, the design of the notes has changed significantly. The new design has been considered somewhat safe from forgery for a long time. The currency had 18 levels of protection, but this didn’t make things better.
“Black boxes”
In the year 2012 it’s easy to exchange dollars, euros, and roubles in tenge. The visitors actively use exchange offices and "black boxes" with their favorable rate and avoid banks because of their high commission.
Once we came to Kazakhstan — the country of the sun — to enjoy picturesque landscapes and chak-chak (national dessert food made from deep-fried dough drenched in a hot honey syrup and formed into a certain shape). Experienced tourists said that we should better take dollars to Kazakhstan: the euro rate is unprofitable and there is nothing to do with Russian roubles there. But nobody told us where and how to change money, and we had to shoot ourselves in the foot. We exchanged 50% of the currency in the bank (to be safe), and 50% of in the central marketplace (it’s much cheaper) and ... lost everything! In banks, the exchange rate is entirely unprofitable — you can lose almost 5% of the sum, although everything is very safe for you, no risks. In the marketplace, you may receive some torn banknotes, and nobody will accept them anywhere. We felt like hopeless losers in Alma-Ata. A bill for two thousand tenges in the restaurant and an excellent room in the center of the city for nine thousand tenges could lighten the mood. Experienced tourists know about banks and good exchange offices, but what should other people do?
Despite the benefits of the exchanges, the bank remains the only proven and safe place for currency exchange. In street markets, railway stations and bus stations, street money changers often give you counterfeit money. Last year the government detected 2 million pseudo-tenges, which are actively used by counterfeiters.
Safe currency exchange
Four years ago, the National Bank of the country introduced new regulations on currency exchange, which would help to avoid illegal currency turnover. First, the exchange points must always have a certain rate, almost equal to the rates in official banks. Secondly, you won’t be able to receive more than a million tenges. The smallest banknote is 200 tenges, the largest one — 20 000 tenges. Thirdly, during the process of currency exchange, the program identifies and documents the identity of a staff member.
Despite all these innovations, counterfeiting and currency mess are flourishing in the country.
"In 2017, the amount of counterfeit currency was increased by 4% in comparison with the last year. Counterfeit banknotes are made using computer technology, an inkjet printer and ordinary offset paper, and they can not be distinguished from the real ones at first glance. However, on closer inspection, any person can immediately determine a fake", said the Head of the cash management department of the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Togzhan Abisheva.
There is one more problem: when you exchange some money in tenge, you get “a bunch of notes” to carry around. It is very uncomfortable: for $100 you have 33 thousand tenges, for 1000 rubles you get about 6 thousand tenges. Where to put them all? Well, prepare one more luggage for cash then! The purchasing power of tenge is low. Some hotels and restaurants accept cards, but in particular places, you have to pay in cash only, for example in the National or local tea bars.
The AraneoBit team believes that launching p2p-web in Kazakhstan will help to solve these problems. With the help of AraneoBit service, money can be transferred to tokens both abroad and within the country. It will be a full-fledged alternative to the existing quasi-legal scheme in business. It is easy to buy tokens now, and will not require the rebuilding of old mechanisms.
https://araneobit.io/Shady schemes will be left out and this is the most important. All transactions will be recorded on the blockchain. AraneoBit will become an relevant solution for the financial market of Kazakhstan.
https://t.me/AraneoBit_En
