Banking & Money in Farsi: Numbers, Currency & Financial Conversations

The first time a taxi driver in Tehran told me the fare was پنج تومن. panj tumân. I handed him 5,000 rials. He looked at me like I'd tried to pay with a bus ticket. He meant 50,000 rials. The ریال-to-تومان conversion had tripped me up, and I'd just offered him roughly 10 cents for a 20-minute ride.

Iran's currency system is designed to confuse. The official unit is the rial, but everyone speaks in tomans. Prices drop zeros casually. ATMs show numbers in one format, shopkeepers quote in another, and bank apps use a third. If you're going to handle money in Farsi, you need to decode the system before you learn the vocabulary.

Rial vs Toman: The Currency Confusion

This is the single most confusing thing about money in Iran, and nobody explains it well. Here's the truth:

• ریال. riyâl. is the official currency. It's on banknotes, in bank statements, on ATM screens.
• تومان. tumân. is what everyone actually says. 1 toman = 10 rials.
• Then people drop zeros. When someone says پنجاه تومن. panjâh tumân. they might mean 500,000 rials (50,000 tomans) or 50,000 rials (5,000 tomans) depending on context.

Rule of thumb: In conversation, multiply what they say by 10,000 to get rials. Panj tumân = 50,000 rials. Dah tumân = 100,000 rials. Sad tumân = 1,000,000 rials.

If in doubt, ask: تومنی میگی یا ریالی؟. tumâni migi yâ riyâli?. "Are you saying tomans or rials?" No Iranian will judge you for asking. They know the system is absurd.

Essential Banking Vocabulary

ATM Screens in Farsi

Iranian ATMs display in Farsi (occasionally with English as a secondary option). Here are the screens you'll see:

1. رمز خود را وارد کنید. ramz-e khod râ vâred konid. "Enter your PIN"
2. برداشت وجه. bardâsht-e vajh. "Cash withdrawal"
3. موجودی حساب. mojudi-ye hesâb. "Account balance"
4. انتقال وجه. enteqâl-e vajh. "Fund transfer"
5. مبلغ را وارد کنید. mablagh râ vâred konid. "Enter the amount"

Remember: ATM amounts are in rials, not tomans. If you want to withdraw 500,000 tomans, you enter 5,000,000.

Bank Conversation Scripts

Opening an Account

FORMAL: سلام، می‌خواهم یک حساب جدید باز کنم. salâm, mikhâham yek hesâb-e jadid bâz konam
COLLOQUIAL: سلام، میخوام یه حساب جدید باز کنم. salâm, mikham ye hesâb-e jadid bâz konam
"Hello, I want to open a new account"

Exchanging Money

نرخ دلار امروز چنده؟. nerkh-e dolâr emruz chande?. "What's the dollar rate today?"
میخوام دویست دلار تبدیل کنم. mikham divist dolâr tabdil konam. "I want to exchange 200 dollars"

Asking About Fees

کارمزد داره؟. kârmozd dâre?. "Is there a fee?"
حداقل موجودی چقدره؟. haddeaqall-e mojudi cheqadre?. "What's the minimum balance?"

How Iranians Talk About Prices

The zero-dropping gets creative:

• سی تومن. si tumân. could mean 30,000 tomans (300,000 rials) for a meal, or 30 million tomans (300,000,000 rials) for rent. Context is everything.
• For large amounts (rent, cars), people sometimes say میلیون. milyun. or میلیارد. milyârd
• چنده؟. chande?. "How much?" The most useful two syllables in Iranian commerce.

For more on real-life situations like this: Functional Farsi hub

FAQ

Money conversations in Farsi require two skills: the vocabulary and the number system. Get both, and you stop being the tourist who hands a taxi driver ten cents. ZabanYar's conversation practice includes real-life scenarios like banking and shopping. Start free.

Get it wrong and the worst that happens is a warm laugh and a story they’ll tell for years. Get it right — refuse the tea twice, accept on the third — and you’ll watch a face open up. You didn’t just speak Persian. You played the game.