Money

Currency

There are two official currencies. In Serbia there is Dinar, in Montenegro Euro. This has been also utilised in Kosovo. The exchange rate is easy enough to remember. One British pound is 116 Dinars, or if you prefer, 1 Euro = 79 Dinars. (approximately)

The Dinar has been respected, while the exchange at the black market has been forbidden. Euro has been sometimes accepted in Serbia, but in the rare exceptions (buying the valuables in the stores). Dinar has been the currency to be exchanged or of reference.

Currency to pay with

The bank card is beginning to be spread out enough in great towns. The main commercial streets and the great hotels, especially in Montenegro, have been equipped to accept the card. But take care this is still a blackmail system you have been signing. The most spread out card is the card of the Blue Visa, but you may also use the Diners and Eurocard/Mastercard.

The distributors are enormously numerous in the great towns because many foreign banks had been opened. There is a relatively dense agencies network like in Germany, so that there is each time an automatic window. But you might be interested each time to withdraw an important amount since the commission has been high enough, higher than in Spain for instance, otherwise do always prefer an important buying directly by the card instead of withdraw many times some amounts at the window.

Exchange

There has been developed last years a dense network of mutually competing banks such as Société Generale, Raiffeisen bank for strangers, but also Delta or Alpha Bank. If you add the more ancient restructuring of the depot banks you would see that the means to supply the money has not been missing. In smaller towns many banks have been proposing the service authorized by the Western Union or the withdrawal of the money at the window with the Visa or Diners Cards.

In addition o the banks the other means to exchange have been at your disposal. A great number of exchange agencies open from 9 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. disseminated throughout the country would convert your Euro into Dinars. The post offices are also interesting because they are open in the centre of the town till 8 p.m., or sometimes till 10 p.m. They are offering all services of the banks. Finally you may bring your travel cheques acceptable in the majority of agencies.

The last advice: do not enter Germany with your Dinars. They would automatically become the museum objects because nobody would take them. And with the inflation those of the previous travel would become obsolete.

Banks

The office hours are long and practical for any tourist wanting to go to shopping. Open from Monday through Saturday, the banks open at 8 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., sometimes even at 8 p.m. except on Saturday when all the commerce has been arrested at 3 p.m.

The financial view had been changed last years by the arrival of many strangers who obliged the banks to get modernized. The service has been at a high level at the very beginning of capitalism known in Serbia-Montenegro the client is a king. At such a point in great banks there appeared the brilliant agencies and vitrines and furniture, the plethoric personnel with a large smile one had forgotten.

Loss or stealth of the card

The same thing should be done like in every other country. You will present in an international way the number the bank had given you. Do not forget to write down this number into your notebook. It is the case in Europe outside the European Union. Thereafter a declaration of the stealth should be made at the police station because there is a risk it not to be complied by your bank after your come back. Concerning the cards given by the distributors, they would be compensated for at the window on the next day.