Kazakhstan has a well developed banking system. It’s easy to find ATMs that will dispense Tenge to foreign card holders but keep some hard currency on you just in case. Machines do sometimes break down and you may not see a bank for an extended period when travelling through very rural areas.

Exchange facilities are in all towns and cities and U.S. dollars and euros are widely accepted. Some foreigners living in Kazakhstan told us that while the euro was easy to exchange, its fluctuations seemed to be less closely watched and so changes weren’t as quickly reflected in street rates as the dollar.

In larger centres, some exchange kiosks are open 24 hours. Rates can be less favourable in the early hours of the night.

Unlike in Uzbekistan, the Kazakh authorities were unconcerned with how much money we took into the country. There is no need to worry if you withdraw money from a bank and leave Kazakhstan with more cash than when you entered.