The sum is the official currency of Uzbekistan with the ISO code UZS. The Uzbek spelling is сўм.
History of the currency of Uzbekistan
The Uzbek sum in its current form was issued on July 1, 1994. Before that, the new ruble was still the official national currency in Uzbekistan. In a short transition period between November 15, 1993 and the above-mentioned issue date, a transition currency – the old sum – was introduced. The currency was based 1: 1 on the Russian ruble and it was intended as a transition currency to the new sum when it was issued.
The new sum was issued at an exchange ratio of 1: 1000 to the old sum. A sum is divided into 100 tiyin. The issued notes were initially issued in a limited denomination of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25 and 100 notes. In the following years, the increasing inflation made it necessary to issue ever larger nominal values.
The first 200 sum note followed in 1997, the 500 note in 1999, the 1000 note in 2001, the 5000 note in 2013 and in 2017 notes with a nominal value of 10,000 and 50,000 sum were issued for the first time. The issue of such a high grade in particular shows the advancing inflation very clearly.
With the issue at that time in 1994, the sum was exchanged at a ratio of 1:25 – that is, for one US dollar25 sums were paid. The ratio is now around 1: 8100.
In the years between 1996 and 2017, the sum could not be officially exchanged. After the currency was released for exchange on September 3rd, there was a massive devaluation. The background to the opening was the intention to enable foreign investors to enter the Uzbek economy. At the time the sum was released, a large number of goods and services were still denominated in USD.
Before that, Uzbekistan had a kind of shadow economy. While the official purchase rate was fixed in the past and was also to be paid by foreign investors, the currency on the black market had a significantly worse ratio. This meant that investors ended up having to pay a multiple of the official exchange rate and created a lack of interest from foreign investors.
The current exchange rate can be easily determined using the currency converter. The exchange rate ratio between the sum and, for example, the euro can be determined here. Of course, it is also possible to determine the inverse relationship between the euro and the sum.
Exchange into local currency
If you want to travel to Uzbekistan, you should either exchange your money within Uzbekistan. Ideally, you travel to the country with USD or euros, both of which can be exchanged without any problems. However, if you want to exchange Sum back into another currency, you should note that exchanges usually only work in USD. Or withdraw money in the national currency with a credit card at the large Landesbanken (at the machine)