Currency exchange: buying and selling rates, spread and how not to lose money

What makes a currency exchange good or bad is not the “rate” in the ad but the gap between the buying and selling rates, the spread. Buy 1,000 dollars and sell them straight back at a 60-kopeck spread and you lose UAH 600; at a UAH 1.20 spread, UAH 1,200. The NBU official rate is only a reference for accounting: banks and exchange offices in Ukraine set their own rates, so compare the rate you actually exchange at and all the fees.

Oleksandr Suhak October 28, 2026 6 min read

The NBU official rate vs the exchange office rate

The National Bank of Ukraine sets the official hryvnia exchange rate every day. For the dollar, it is the volume-weighted average rate of interbank trades of 100 thousand to 5 million dollars. The NBU regulation states plainly what this rate is for: recording foreign currency operations in accounting and giving market participants a quick reference.

The key point for anyone buying currency: nobody is obliged to use the official rate. Banks and exchange offices set their own rates, and they always differ from the official one: they buy currency for less and sell it for more.

Buying rate, selling rate and spread

An exchange office board always shows two numbers. They are written from the exchange office's point of view, and this is where people most often get confused:

Buying is what the office pays you for currency. This is your number when you sell dollars or euros.
Selling is what the office charges you for currency. This is your number when you buy.
Spread is the difference between them. It is the office's profit and your loss if you exchange there and back.

The spread depends on where you exchange, the currency, the amount and market conditions. The wider the spread, the more every exchange costs you.

How much you lose if you buy 1,000 dollars and sell them straight back: at rates of 45.50/45.80, 45.30/45.90 and 45.00/46.20. The rates are illustrative. WM² calculation.

Why frequent exchanges are expensive

One trip “into dollars and back” at a 1.31% spread looks minor. But if you exchange the same money there and back four times a year, trying to catch the “right moment”, you lose 5.13% of the amount. At a 2.60% spread, four such round trips take 9.99%. That is comparable to a year of after-tax deposit income: a deposit at 13% a year brings 10.01% after 23% tax.

Where to exchange: bank, app or exchange office

Ways to exchange currency
Method	Pros	What to watch
In your banking app (to a currency account)	fast, rate visible in advance, spread often the narrowest	the currency is non-cash: withdrawing it as cash may cost a fee
At a bank branch	reliable, you get a receipt	the rate is often worse than in the same bank's app
At an exchange office	many locations, longer hours	spreads vary; the rate on the board may apply only to large amounts
Privately, in chats or on the street	none	counterfeit notes, fraud, no protection at all

Before exchanging, check three things: the rate for your exact amount, whether there is a separate fee, and whether you will get a receipt. A rate “from 1,000 dollars” on the board won't help if you are exchanging 200.

How to buy currency in parts

It is impossible to guess the best day to buy currency, so buying equal amounts regularly is more reliable. That way your average rate evens out on its own.

Paying by card abroad

When you pay with a hryvnia card in another currency, the money is converted, and there is a spread here too. A few rules:

Pay in the local currency. If a terminal or ATM offers to charge you in hryvnias right away, decline: the rate of this “convenient” conversion is usually worse than your bank's.
Find out your bank's card rate. Banks set a separate rate for card transactions, and it may differ from the exchange rate in the app.
If you travel often, a card with a currency account is handy: you buy currency in advance at a known rate and pay without extra conversions.
Cash withdrawals abroad often carry fees from both your bank and the ATM owner. Check the fees before you travel.

Currency as savings

Foreign currency protects you from a devaluation of the hryvnia, but not from inflation: dollars and euros also lose value, just more slowly. How to calculate the real return is explained in our article on inflation, and the inflation calculator shows how much your amount will lose over a few years.

Cash dollars at home earn nothing. If you keep part of your savings in currency, consider currency deposits and currency government bonds (OVDP): bonds often pay more than deposits, and bond income is not taxed for individuals. The comparison is in “Deposit or government bonds”.

How to avoid counterfeit notes and scammers

Exchange at banks and official exchange offices that issue receipts.
Don't exchange privately through ads and messengers, even if the rate looks better: that is exactly how counterfeits are most often passed on.
Count the money before leaving the counter and check the condition of the notes: damaged banknotes may later be refused for exchange.
Never send a prepayment to strangers “for a good exchange rate”. How to recognise common schemes is explained in our article on phone scammers.

In short

The NBU official rate is a reference for accounting; banks and exchange offices set their own rates.
“Buying” on the board is the rate at which you sell currency, “selling” is the rate at which you buy.
The spread is your loss on an exchange there and back: at 45.30/45.90 it is UAH 600 for every 1,000 dollars.
Four exchanges there and back a year take 5-10% of the amount, as much as a deposit earns in a year.
Buy in parts for a specific purpose, and pay in local currency abroad.
Currency protects against devaluation but not inflation: keep it at interest or in government bonds.

Sources

The rates in the examples are illustrative and only show how the calculation works. Check current rates and fees with your bank. This article is not financial advice and does not encourage buying or selling currency.