Practical guide for pilgrims
Iraq’s currency explained for pilgrims: banknotes, dollars or dinars, where to change money and how many dinars you get for 100 US dollars.
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Nebras editorial team
Last updated: 30 October 2026 · Reading time: 3 min
Iraq’s currency is the Iraqi dinar, code IQD, written locally as د.ع. The dinar became Iraq’s official currency in 1932; the banknotes in use today were printed after 2003. The notes in circulation are 250, 500, 1,000, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000 dinars.
In everyday speech Iraqis often drop the thousands: when a shopkeeper says “50 dinars”, they usually mean 50,000 dinars.
The dinar is the easiest way to pay for everyday things: taxis, food, shopping and SIM cards. US dollars are also widely accepted, and many of Iraq’s better hotels quote and charge in dollars, though most will also accept the equivalent in dinars. Other foreign currencies are rarely accepted in shops; change them at an exchange office first.
When a seller converts a price from dinars into another currency, the rate they use is usually worse than an exchange office’s. Paying in dinars is normally the cheapest option.
The simplest way is an exchange office (sarraf). Dinars are hard to find outside Iraq and usually come at a poor rate, so most travellers exchange in Iraq itself: there are exchange offices at the airports and many in the centres of Najaf and Karbala, close to the shrines. ATMs exist in the cities but do not accept every foreign card, so do not rely on them alone.
Tip: have some dinars from the very start of your trip. You will need them for the airport taxi, for buying a SIM card and for the first day’s expenses, and not everywhere, not even every SIM shop at the airport, accepts dollars.
For most travellers the best-value route is to bring US dollars and change them into dinars at an exchange office in Iraq. Rates move, so compare two or three offices before changing a large amount.
Note that in Iraq older US banknotes are worth less: “white” (green-seal) notes and notes printed in 2006 or earlier are exchanged at a lower rate than the newer “blue” notes. Bring new, clean, blue dollar notes.
Exchange offices in Iraq currently give about 167,000 IQD for 100 US dollars. This figure is updated by our team from the market rate in Iraq; check the rate at the exchange office before you change money.
Exchange offices in Iraq currently give about 167,000 IQD for 100 US dollars. Check the rate at the office before you change money.
It is usually cheaper to bring US dollars and change them into dinars in Iraq. Dollars are also accepted by most hotels. Still, have some dinars from the start of your trip: you need them for the airport taxi and for buying an Iraqi SIM card, and dollars are not accepted everywhere.
“White” (green-seal) dollar notes and notes printed in 2006 or earlier are exchanged at a lower rate than blue notes. Bring new blue notes.
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