Paying for Things in Bhutan: Cash, Cards and Digital Payments

Bhutan’s currency, the Ngultrum, is pegged one to one with the Indian rupee, and Indian rupees are widely accepted alongside it, but knowing what to actually carry and when still trips guests up. Here is the plain version, current for 2026.

Outside Thimphu and Paro, cash remains the most reliable way to pay, small shops, rural guesthouses, and roadside stops often have no card reader and unreliable mobile signal for a digital payment to go through. ATMs are common in the two main cities and increasingly available in larger towns, but thin out quickly once your itinerary moves into smaller valleys, so withdraw what you expect to need before leaving Thimphu or Paro rather than assuming you will find a machine later.

Major hotels, larger restaurants, and shops in Thimphu and Paro generally accept international cards, though a small transaction fee is common. Smaller establishments, and almost everything outside the two main cities, do not.

Bhutan’s own digital payment system, built around apps such as BNB (formerly known as goBoB), lets you scan a QR code and pay directly from a linked account, and it has spread quickly through shops, taxis, and restaurants in Thimphu and Paro in particular. For most guests this requires a Bhutanese bank account or a linked service arranged in advance, so it is less relevant for a short visit than for guests spending an extended period in the country.

Indian nationals travelling to Bhutan can now use UPI, India’s own QR payment system, directly at a growing number of merchants in Thimphu and Paro, without needing a separate Bhutanese account. This has made day to day spending considerably easier for Indian guests specifically, and the list of UPI accepting merchants continues to grow each year.

Carry a mix, some Ngultrum or Indian rupees in cash for smaller towns and rural stops, a card for hotels and larger restaurants in the cities, and UPI if you are travelling from India and want the convenience. Ask us before you travel and we will tell you specifically what your itinerary calls for, since a journey spent mostly in Thimphu and Paro has very different needs from one spent largely in rural valleys.