اخبار سوريا اليوم – وطن نيوز
سوريا اليوم – اخبار سوريا عاجل
W6nnews.com ==== وطن === تاريخ النشر – 2026-07-29 23:28:00
The Syrian markets did not wait for the old currency’s clearance power to end until they began to deal with it as if it had actually gone out of circulation, as a clear shift occurred in the behavior of merchants, transport drivers, and some service providers towards the old lira, the use of which has become difficult in most governorates, despite its continued validity of its clearance power until the legal deadline expires tomorrow, Thursday, July 30. During field trips by Enab Baladi correspondents and a survey of citizens’ opinions, on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 28 and 29), in Damascus and its countryside, Latakia, Tartous, Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, Hama, and Daraa, similar features emerged that reflected the state of confusion that accompanied the last days of the currency replacement deadline, represented by: a noticeable stagnation in the movement of markets. The scarcity or absence of new cash denominations, such as 10 and 25 liras, in most governorates. The continued need for the 5-lira note, which has not been on the market since the replacement process began. Quarrels and disputes in transportation and some service departments due to the refusal or inability to accept old currency. Merchants and service providers are increasingly reluctant to accept old denominations before the legal deadline expires. The emergence of a parallel market to replace cash, with varying commissions being deducted, taking advantage of the scarcity of small denominations of the new currency. With the Central Bank of Syria’s decision to lose the old currency’s regulatory power on July 30 about to come into effect, the crisis has moved from being a race against time to replace banknotes to a test of the market’s ability to adapt to the monetary shift, in light of the shortage of new liquidity and the varying access to replacement centers between governorates. In the markets, commercial stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and pharmacies stopped receiving the old currency before the legal deadline expired, for fear that it would remain without the ability to exchange it later, which contributed to deepening the state of commercial recession. In the transportation sector, a number of drivers of “sarafans,” buses, and taxis refused to accept the old categories, which led to daily quarrels with passengers, while the sector suffered from a clear shortage of the new small categories needed to return the rest. Enab Baladi also monitored complaints about some collection and service windows refusing to receive old denominations, coinciding with long queues in front of exchange centers in banks and post offices, especially in governorates that lack branches of the Central Bank. Recession in the markets In the markets of the city of Deir ez-Zor, the buying and selling activity has declined significantly in recent days, after a number of merchants and shop owners refused to accept the old currency under the pretext that it had expired and lost its value, which prompted many citizens to postpone their purchases or search for alternative means of disposing of the money they possess. Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Deir ez-Zor reported that while some merchants completely closed the door to dealing in old denominations, others resorted to accepting them in exchange for a discount of up to 10% of their value, turning the currency exchange crisis into an additional cost borne by the consumer. The impact of the crisis was not limited to large commercial transactions, but rather reached the details of daily life. “Abu Uday,” also from Deir ez-Zor, said that he used to send his children to the “grocery store” every day to buy sweets and sweets with the amount he gave them, but he was surprised that they returned crying after the owner of the “grocery store” refused to sell them anything because the money they were carrying was of the old version. He added, “Until now, the new currency is not available, especially for small groups. I cannot bear to see my children’s tears, and at the same time I do not have a new currency.” The same complaint is repeated by grocery store owners, who assert that the lack of small denominations of the new issue makes even those who accept the new currency unable to secure the “farza” for customers. Parallel exchange market With increasing pressure on exchange centers, a parallel market has emerged that takes advantage of citizens’ need to quickly get rid of old currency. Varying commissions and discounts were imposed on unofficial exchange operations, while in some governorates two prices for the US dollar appeared, one when paying in the new currency, and the other higher when paying in the old currency. This prompted some citizens and merchants to buy the dollar at a loss, not for the purpose of investment, but rather to get rid of the old cash block before it completely loses its value, in a scene that reflects how the last days of the replacement deadline turned into a frantic race between time constraints and market turmoil. In Latakia, according to a survey conducted by Enab Baladi’s correspondent, some “supermarket” stores, according to what residents are circulating on social media sites, have turned into unofficial currency exchange points, in exchange for a deduction of about ten thousand liras for every million liras exchanged. One of the shop owners said that until recently, many citizens believed that exchanging currency was limited to Damascus, before they discovered that there were exchange points in their governorates. However, the most prominent problem, according to merchants and citizens, is the lack of small denominations of the new issue, especially the 10-lira note, with demands to issue a 20-lira note instead of the 25-lira note, which, according to their description, caused widespread confusion in daily sales operations due to the “change” problem. The matter extended to exchange shops, which began charging two different rates depending on the type of lira used for payment. While $100 is exchanged for about 13,200 liras of the new issue, the price rises to more than 13,500 liras when paying in the old currency, in a direct reflection of the decline in confidence in it before the end of its circulation. In Al-Hasakah, the process of exchanging currency has become an additional challenge due to the limited exchange centers, according to Enab Baladi’s correspondent, which forced many to wait for long hours without guaranteeing the completion of their transactions, with fears that they would later have to travel hundreds of kilometers to complete the exchange process. In Tartous, citizens say that most stores have stopped accepting the old currency since July 25, leaving people with small amounts of money unable to use them to buy their daily needs. Merchants said that the shortage of some new categories was directly reflected in the prices, as some of them were forced to round up the value of the bill to the higher number due to the absence of the “fretza,” which placed additional burdens on consumers. Cases of exploitation were recorded in the markets in the Baniyas region, where brokers exchange every 100,000 old Syrian pounds for the new currency, in exchange for 10,000 old Syrian pounds. Drivers stop working The markets were not the only ones affected, as the situation was reflected in the internal transportation sector as well. Muhammad al-Sayyid, a driver working in Deir ez-Zor, said he stopped working temporarily because gas stations no longer accept the old currency, while most passengers still pay with it. He added that continuing to work in these circumstances practically means converting his daily income into papers that may lose their value if they cannot be replaced, which is what prompted him to park his car and wait for the scene to clear up. Ibrahim, a driver working on the Deir ez-Zor-Damascus line, also posted a message via the “WhatsApp” application in which he said: “To all passengers, we apologize for accepting the old currency, and thank you,” in a message summarizing the transformation that occurred in the transportation sector before the official deadline expired. Lack of liquidity in Suwayda As the deadline for replacing the old Syrian currency approached, a crisis of liquidity shortage from the new cash issuance emerged in Suwayda Governorate, despite the Central Bank of Syria opening four official exchange outlets, and the limited availability of new denominations led to slow replacement processes and clear confusion in the markets. According to a survey conducted by Enab Baladi, this was reflected in daily transactions, as the majority of shops refrained from accepting most denominations of the old currency, while some of them continued to accept the old five-thousand-lira banknote only. Other stores were also forced to compensate customers with goods instead of returning the rest of the amount, as a result of the lack of new banknotes, especially the 20-lira denomination, with a clear scarcity of the remaining small denominations. In light of the increasing pressure on the exchange centres, some unofficial exchange offices began offering the currency exchange service in exchange for a commission amounting to about 50,000 old Syrian pounds for every million pounds exchanged. Enab Baladi monitored a state of dissatisfaction among citizens, as one of them said while he was in one of the exchange centers: “How can they not accept the old currency, when I received my salary yesterday in the old currency? They said there is not enough liquidity.” Commercial activity and a number of service sectors were also affected as a result of the lack of liquidity, at a time when the Suwayda Chamber of Commerce and Industry recommended temporarily continuing to accept the old currency at official institutions and commercial events until an official decision is issued. No comment from the Central Bank. The silence of those in charge of the Central Bank and their abstention from making any statement or position regarding the mandatory coexistence between the old and new currencies until the end of July reflects their fears that this will affect the stability of the exchange rate of the Syrian pound, which is the focus of the Central Bank’s attention and policies, in all its decisions, statements, and banking programs. The executive instructions for the decree to replace the old currency require all businesses and financial institutions to “coexist” between the two issues until the end of the month, noting that the exchange will remain available in Central Bank branches for the next five years. However, the reality on the ground indicates a crisis of confidence between citizens and business owners. A source close to the Central Bank of Syria, who requested to remain anonymous, indicated that the bank is continuing to implement its decision to end the value of the old currency by the end of July, because this measure contributed to the stability of the exchange rate. He said that the old banknotes represented a “tool” in market speculation on the exchange rate, and therefore the policy of stifling liquidity implemented by the Central Bank, in addition to ending the existence of the old lira, contributes to supporting the position of the new lira against the US dollar, as he put it. The Central Bank of Syria announced that the old Syrian currency would lose its currency with the expiration of the deadline set for its replacement, months after implementing a plan to gradually replace the new monetary issue in the markets. On July 26, the Central Bank resolved the existing controversy over whether the exculpatory power of the old Syrian currency would be extended, as it reiterated that the old currency loses its exculpatory power and becomes unfit for circulation starting on July 31. The Syrian Central Bank said in new instructions that the deadline for replacing old banknotes ends on July 30, announcing that an advanced rate of completion has been achieved in the process of replacing the old Syrian currency. The bank called on citizens to replace the banknotes in their possession through its centers and approved bank branches during the specified period, stressing that the old banknotes will no longer be valid for settling payments or fulfilling financial obligations after the deadline expires. This decision, according to the Central Bank, came within the framework of the program to restructure the monetary mass and trade the new issue. However, the disparity in the availability of new liquidity between governorates, crowding at exchange centers, and the shortage of small denominations created practical challenges that were directly reflected in the markets and daily transactions in various parts of the country. Related
