Saddek Omar Elkaber, current head of Libyan Central Bank,
told Reuters that "the first delivery of the war-torn country's new
banknotes still nearly two months away . . . The first shipment will arrive at
the end of December... We are going to have to manage the liquidity problem until
then." But as of the 7th of January 2012 most
Libyans are yet to see the new currency, except for the ten dinar note
(see below). All the notes shown in this page are still in use in Libya (as of
May 2012), except the fifty dinar note, and the quarter and half dinar notes,
which are no longer valid. However, the equivalent quarter and half dinar coins
are still valid.
On the 14th of January 2012 Libya.tv announced
that the CBL had started withdrawing old currency from circulation, apparently
to "restore liquidity into the country’s banking system" after
it found that the vast majority of funds are being kept outside banks -- in excess
of 15 billion dinars (or 96% of available money), the governor of CBL said. The
transition will initially start with "fifty dinar banknotes". The
last date for handing in the 50-dinar bill is the 15th of March 2012.
"The bank’s deputy
governor, Ali Mohammed Salem, told Reuters last month that the central bank’s
major concern was to restore liquidity in the Libyan banking system, which was
depleted of its dinar reserves when Gaddafi’s entourage seized 3-4 billion dinars
from the central bank. They also seized 2.3 billion dinars worth of gold, he
said." However, according to a recent report: "The new leadership did not know the size of state assets, how their
money was being spent, or what had happened to more than $2 billion transferred
from the sovereign wealth fund." http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/us-libya-finances-idUSBRE8470E220120508
One Libyan Dinar Note
The Libyan Dinar (دينار ليبي) was introduced in 1971 by the
Central Bank of Libya as a replacement of the Jonayh, Jnee, or Gnee; which recalls the old English guinea (: originally
was worth more than one pound: about £1.05 in today's
money. The old English guinea was used to pay gentlemen
like artists, but the pound was the common unit used
to pay ordinary workers like labourers). ISO 4217 (or the currency code) of the Libyan Dinar is LYD, which sometimes is found as LD.
The Value of The Libyan Dinar (1LYD)
The Libyan Dinar was worth $3.3 (US dollars) and remained
so strong until the 1980s, after which it began to gradually fall. Today it is
worth less than a dollar (about $0.80). The rate of the American dollar in the
Libyan black market has reached ten times that of the Libyan rate in 1996; which
led the Libyan government to relax its grip on selling dollars to the Libyan
people and thereby succeeding in lowering this rate to the average of three times
that of the Libyan rate. Foreign travellers and visitors must not leave the country
with more money than they initially declared when they arrived.
The smallest coin in circulation is 5 qirsh (50 mellim or milliemes)
or 5 pence.
The copper 1 pence and 2 pence coins are no longer in circulation, but are
available from Libyan banks.
The Libyan Dinar comes in the following notes:
¼ dinar (this note is no longer valid from the 1st of October 2010 - only
the coin is accepted [see bottom of this page])
½ dinar (this note is no longer valid from the 1st of October 2010 - only
the coin is accepted [see bottom of this page])
1 dinar
5 dinars
10 dinars
20 dinars
50 dinars
A Quarter of Libyan Dinar Note
A note of quarter dinar (or 25 pence).
The reverse side, showing the Fort of Murzuq, with unbelievably tall palms!
No longer valid. Only coins of the same value are still
valid.
Top Banks of Libya
There are about ten major banks in
Libya: the Central Bank of Libya,
the Agriculture Bank, the National
Commercial Bank, the Commerce
&
Development Bank, the Arab Foreign
Bank, the Savings and Real Estate Investment Bank, the Sahara Bank,
al-Jamahiriya Bank, the Umma Bank, and the Wahda Bank.
For more details, please see our Libyan Banks page.
Half Libyan Dinar Note
A note of half dinar.
The reverse side of the Libyan half dinar.
No longer valid. Only coins of the same value are still valid.
Exchanging Money in Libyan Banks
It can be disappointing to travellers to find out that many banks in Libya, particularly those located in small
towns and villages,
are not authorised to deal
in foreign currency and as such unable to exchange
foreign currency for Libyan money. Only large banks
or money shops (exchange bureaus)
offer this services. It is perfectly
safe to carry large amount of cash
with you in Libya, and therefore
exchanging small amounts at a time
can be impractical at times. Always bring cash with you into the country.
Check the latest currency rates at the Central Bank of Libya: cbl.gov.ly/home/xrates.php
According to this decree the old five-dinars note (and also
the ten-dinars note) of the fourth and fifth series will be withdrawn from circulation
on the 1st of November 2012.
Article
(2) of the Decree states that the Libyans have until the 31st of December 2012
to return the old notes to the bank. The new five-dinars note is shown below:
The New 5-Dinars Note (2012).
The differences between the old and the new 5-dinars notes are:
(1) the removal
of the name "Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya";
(2) the removal of the Koranic phrase (shown in the left, lower section of the
old note);
(3) the reverse side of the new note is now in English (instead of Arabic);
(4) the removal of the "coat of arms" and the Arabic text from the reverse side.
Western Union
&
Cash
Branches of Western Union are
available in Libya as agents of Libya's Bank of Commerce
and Development, and their offices are located inside the banks. According
to Libyan law you must not leave Libya with more money in your possession
than the money you had when you first arrived. Generally speaking,
cash is normally used by most tourists. If you are coming from Tunisia,
then you might would like to know that in a joint conference with
the Tunisian Prime Minister, the Secretary of the Libyan GPS has
announced that from the 15th of January 2007 the Libyan
and Tunisian dinars will be accepted in all Tunisian and Libyan
banks and shops, without any reservation. If you are buying or exchanging any Libyan money in Tunisia before you enter Libya, please check their authenticity. It is highly recommended to buy your Libyan currency inside Libya; your tour guide will be very happy to help.
Ten Libyan Dinars Note
The old Libyan ten dinars note, showing the leader of the
resistance the martyr Omar Almokhtar.
The following 10 dinars note was released by Gaddafi's government during the
last months of the February war,
when currency was very scarce during the imposed
sanctions.
NTC
New Ten Dinars Note.
The new note does not carry the name of the country, except the name of the "Libyan
Central Bank".
The new ten-dinars note has been in circulation
since November 2011.
The differences between the old and the new 10-dinars notes are:
(1) the removal of the name "Great Socialist People’s
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya";
(2) the removal of the Koranic phrase (shown in the left, lower section of the
old note);
(3) the reverse side of the new note is now in English (instead of Arabic);
(4) the removal of the phrase: "declaration of people's power".
Credit Cards & ATM Machines in Libya
Credit cards are not widely accepted
(please see our Travel
Guide for details). ATM cash machines are found mainly in Tripoli
and Benghazi, including Tripoli Airport, and in some other cities like Cyrene,
Sirte, Musratha and Zuwarah. Whether they have cash in them at all times or not
is a different matter. Please note that the limit on
the daily amount
you can withdraw from any ATM machine in Libya is set by your own bank and often
varies from 400 Libyan Dinars to 1000 Libyan Dinars, depending on type of card.
The following list shows the locations of Wahda's ATM machines as published by the Wahda Bank (wahdabank.org).
Branch
City
Main Branch Benghazi
Benghazi
Souk Branch
Benghazi
Tibesti Branch
Benghazi
Wahda Alarabia Agency
Benghazi
Khalij Branch
Benghazi
Alabyar Branch
Benghazi
Rasheed Branch
Tripoli
Swani Road Branch
Tripoli
Saqah Mosque Branch
Tripoli
Magharba Branch
Tripoli
Jadah Branch
Tripoli
Algeria Square Branch
Tripoli
Burj Tripoli Branch
Tripoli
Tobruk Branch
Tobruk
Zliten Branch
Zliten
Ben Jawad Branch
Ben Jawad
Ras Lanuf Agency
Ras Lanuf
Location of ATMs in Tripoli according to www.visa.co.uk.
You can use the following tool to search for the location
of ATM machines in any country in the world including Libya.
visaeurope.com/en/cardholders/atm_locator.aspx
Also you can use Mastercard ATM Locator Tool at:
http://www.mastercard.com/global/atmlocations/
Twenty Libyan Dinars Note
GNC
The New 20 Libyan Dinar, 2013.
The old 20 Libyan dinars.
A note of twenty dinars, showing the man-made river.
Cashing Travellers Cheques in Libya
Travellers cheques: very few banks in
Libya accept travellers cheques. If you do find one that accepts them, make sure you produce the document
issued to you by your bank when you bought the travellers cheques.
This document should have your name and the serial numbers of all
the travellers cheques in the book. Without this document you will
not be able to cash the cheques in Libyan banks.
Fifty Libyan Dinars Note
The old 50 dinars note, showing Col. Gaddafi.
The fifty dinar note is no longer valid; it was withdrawn
by Law
1 (of 2012): decree (1) of 2012
On the 23rd of May 2013 LANA reported that the CBL (Central
Bank of Libya) will be launching the new 50 Dinars banknote; and that it will
hold a celebration in
June [2013], in Benghazi, to celebrate the first shipment of the
new banknote. The CBL said choosing Benghazi for the party is in line with commemorating
Benghazi's famous monument, Khribiesh Beacon ( منارة خريبيش ), on
the new banknote. The Khribiesh monument was built in 1935.
This is the first issue of the old
50 dinars note, as indicated by its number (cbl.gov.ly/pdf/0epx4sNPp2x51FMFhSj.pdf).
2013
The new, green 50 dinars note ?
Libyan Coins
Libyan coins showing half dinar (top left), quarter dinar (top right), 100 dirham (bottom left), and 50 dirham (bottom right).
The coins below show the reverse side of the above coins.
Image from
www.wahdabank.org
Depositing or withdrawing any amount in coins is possible
at Al Wahda Bank.
18 October 2017
Bayda's parallel CBL has issued Libya's first one dinar coin. The order was
given according to Law No. 1 of 2005 and Law No.3 of 2017.
The coin will be in circulation from the 2nd of November 2017. Since the
coin was issued by the Bayda's CBL the design of the coin included elements
that represent Cyrenaica, like the Silphium
plant (نبتة السلفيوم) - a probable indicator that Libya will be
eventually divided.
