For the third time. The Central Bank of Syria extends the deadline for replacing the old currency

The Central Bank of Syria (CBS) has extended for the third time the deadline for the replacement of old Syrian banknotes, under a decision issued by Governor Mohammed Safwat Raslan, to add 30 new days starting from July 1, 2026, as part of the bank's plan to allow additional time for citizens and financial institutions to complete the replacement operations before the final closure of the file.

3 extensions since the beginning of the year

This decision comes as a continuation of a series of extensions that began with the launch of the currency exchange project at the beginning of this year, as the bank had previously extended the deadline of 60 days between April 1 and May 31, 2026, before the second extension was issued at the end of May, which allowed an additional month from June 1 to June 30, with the aim of completing the withdrawal of the remaining notes from the markets and facilitating the access of people in the eastern and northern governorates to the exchange centers.

56% of the old cash block went out of circulation

Under the new extension, the branches of the Central Bank of Syria and the operating banks will continue to receive banknotes covered by the previous withdrawal decisions throughout the extension period, provided that the bank will later announce the final schedule for closing the replacement file after the expiry of the additional period.

Official data issued by the bank shows that the replacement process has made significant progress, with 56% of the total old cash mass in circulation being withdrawn and replaced.

The figures indicate that the target bloc is about 42 trillion Syrian pounds, while the volume of funds that have actually been withdrawn exceeded 23.5 trillion Syrian pounds, compared to 13 trillion Syrian pounds when the first completion rate (35%) is reached.

Statistics also show that daily inflows to bank funds range between 12 and 13 billion old pounds, which reflects the continued demand for exchange centers at a steady pace, despite logistical challenges in some areas.

Conditions for replacing the small pieces and small pieces

The Central Bank of Syria has set basic  conditions for the replacement of small denominations of cash according to clear controls that customers adhere to when submitting old banknotes, as it stipulates that the number of pieces provided in one transaction should not be less than 100 notes of the same denomination, such as 100 notes of the old 200 pound denomination, to ensure the smooth flow of work and organize the replacement operations.

The bank obliged the citizen or authorized person to sort and arrange the papers in advance according to categories in the form of separate bundles before handing them over to the cashier, with the aim of speeding up manual and automated counting and easing congestion inside the exchange centers.

The Bank confirmed that it accepts  worn out papers from small denominations as long as the serial number is clear, provided that the remaining area of the paper is not less than two-thirds of its original size, while the papers that are completely distorted or have lost their basic features are referred to the Deformity Assessment Committee at the Central Bank's main branch, to determine the possibility of compensating them according to the approved standards.