The Ukrainian currency is known as the hryvnia you may also hear the pronunciation "grivna". It was introduced in 1996. The exchange did hover around 5 UAH to 1 USD, but due to the global economic downturn has dropped to between 7.5 and 8 UAH to 1 USD.
Both ATMs known as "bankomats" and currency exchanges "obmin valyuti" are ubiquitous throughout Lviv, particularly in the city center. Most, but not all, ATMs will accept Visa and Mastercard. Currency exchanges will often only accept foreign currency in pristine condition. Travellers' checks are not very useful in Lviv; however, there are still a few hotels and banks that will cash them for you.
Credit cards are now widely accepted in perhaps all city center restaurants, cafes, hotels and some hostels. Also at the main bus station and long distance train station. Suprisingly lot of small grocery stores now also accept plastic.
You should be aware that attempting to pay for something inexpensive with a large denomination 50 UAH and above will often at the very least annoy the shopkeeper; salespeople may even refuse to sell to you if you do not have any smaller denominations. Grocery stores and other high-volume shops are an exception to this rule.
