How international travelers, nomads & expats can pay with QR codes in Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar is a QR city: cafés, supermarkets, the State Department Store and taxi drivers all show a QPay code. Moreta Pay scans it for you, funded from your own bank or card, so you pay in tögrög without opening a Mongolian account before you head for the steppe.
QPay
Costs, limits and tips
Paying in Mongolia
Guide updated
What it costs
- Transaction fee
- 1.5%
- Exchange rate today
- 1 USD = 3,609.24 MNTLive rate, updated recently
Limits
- Max payment
- 10M MNT
- Weekly limit
- 20M MNT
The app always shows the live rate and the exact cost before you pay.
Local tips
- Look for the QPay mark on the sticker or the terminal screen.
- Carry cash for ger camps, drivers and anything outside Ulaanbaatar, where there is often no signal to scan.
- Top up the wallet while you are in the city: data drops away fast on the road.
Why QR code is the best way to pay in Mongolia
QR codes are how people pay in Mongolia: hold up a phone, scan the code on the counter, done. Mongolians pay with their bank apps by scanning QPay, the code that nearly every bank in the country shares, and foreign cards are hit and miss outside the big hotels. In Ulaanbaatar a scan works at restaurants, minimarts, pharmacies and museums. Beyond the city, cash is still king.
Moreta gives you the same thing as a visitor. A scan is contactless, so there is no card to hand over and no cash to carry, and each payment costs one flat fee at the live rate instead of a foreign transaction fee and a marked-up rate from your bank at home.
The problem with paying abroad as a tourist, expat or nomad
Paying abroad with the card in your wallet is easy until it is not. Your bank may block the first charge as suspicious. When it goes through, most cards add a foreign transaction fee and convert at a rate of their choosing, and some terminals offer to charge you in your own currency at a worse one.
Cash is no better. ATMs stack your bank's withdrawal fee, the operator's fee and a poor rate, and you still end up carrying more Mongolian tugrik than you need and changing the rest back at the airport. Paying by QR from a wallet you fund yourself skips all of it: one fee, the live rate and no plastic.
Card or cash
- A foreign transaction fee on most cards
- Your bank's rate, or the terminal's worse one
- ATM fees from your bank and the operator
- Leftover Mongolian tugrik to change back
Moreta
- One flat fee, shown before you slide to pay
- The live rate at the moment you pay
- No ATM and no card to hand over
- What you do not spend stays for the next country
How Moreta Pay works
Moreta is a wallet on your phone that pays QPay codes as if a local had scanned them. Set it up once, at home or on the plane, and it is ready before you land in Mongolia.
01Verify your identity
Download Moreta, scan your passport and take a selfie. Verification usually takes a few minutes, and your account can move money as soon as it passes.
- 02
Load funds to your Moreta Pay wallet
Link a US bank through Plaid, or send a SEPA, Faster Payments, Interac or PayID transfer. Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and USDC work too, and you can top up from the road.
- 03
Scan QR codes at local shops & restaurants
Tap Scan and point your camera at the QPay code on the counter. Moreta reads it the way a Mongolian bank app would.
- 04
Get seamless payments on the go
Check the amount in Mongolian tugrik, what it costs in your own currency and the fee, then slide to pay. The merchant sees the payment in their own app the moment it clears.
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
Why Moreta Pay is better than alternatives
No local bank account required
Pay from the bank or card you already have. Nothing to open, nothing to close when you leave.
Seamless integration with QPay
QPay is Mongolia's shared QR network, so a code from Khan Bank, Golomt, TDB or any other bank is one code. Moreta pays it directly and shows the tögrög amount and your own currency before you confirm.
Designed for international travelers, expats & nomads
A two-week trip or a year abroad, it works the same, and what you do not spend stays for the next country.
Several accepted payment types
Top up by bank transfer in US dollars, euros, pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, or with a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or USDC.
Lower fees compared to cash or card alternatives
One flat fee per payment, shown before you confirm. No ATM fees, and most banks add no foreign transaction fee.
Instant, contactless QR payments
Scan, check, slide. Nothing to hand over, and the merchant is paid in seconds.
Real exchange rates
Every payment converts to Mongolian tugrik at the live rate at the moment you pay.
See today's rate
Frequently asked questions
What travellers ask before paying by QR in Mongolia.
Showing 6 of 9 questions
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More ways to pay
Activate your Moreta Pay account before your trip
Set up Moreta, add money and land in Mongolia ready to scan. No cash to change, no card to worry about, and one flat fee at the live rate on every payment.
Also works in 
Vietnam, 
Thailand, 
Cambodia, 
the Philippines, 
Laos, 
Malaysia, 
South Korea, 
China, and 5 more countries