Syria began the process of circulating new currency bills on Saturday, as the crisis-hit country seeks to stabilize its economy while it recovers after the fall of President Bashar Assad’s government.
A decree issued earlier this week by President Ahmad al-Sharaa said that “old Syrian currency” will be gradually withdrawn from circulation according to a timetable set by the central bank and through designated exchange centers, according to the Associated Press report.
Central Bank Governor Mokhles Nazer posted on X that after months of preparations, the exchange of old Syrian pounds with new banknotes officially began Saturday morning.
The presidential decree, posted by the SANA state news agency, says “new Syrian currency” will be issued by removing two zeros from the nominal value of the old currency. It means every 100 Syrian pounds of the old currency will now equate to one Syrian pound.
The report said the largest denomination of the old currency was 5,000 Syrian pounds, while under the new currency the largest denomination will be 500 pounds.
In Damascus on Saturday, the U.S. dollar was selling at exchange shops for 11,800 pounds for the old banknotes, some of which bear the images of Assad and his late father and predecessor, Hafez Assad.
The AP report also noted that at the start of Syria’s conflict in mid-March 2011, the U.S. dollar was worth 47 Syrian pounds.
Since insurgent groups led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham marched into Damascus in December 2024 to end the Assad family’s 54-year rule, the report said work has been ongoing by the country’s new authorities to improve the economy battered by years of war and Western sanctions.
The U.S. and the European Union have removed most of the sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule, the report said.