The Central Bank of Egypt clarifies its new mechanisms for the delivery of foreign remittances in Syrian pounds

Less than 24 hours after the governor of the Central Bank of Syria, Abdul Qadir al-Hasriya, denied limiting the delivery of foreign remittances to Syrian pounds, the bank published on Thursday evening, April 23, 2026, a  decision confirming the validity of what was denied, while stressing that the new-old decision will come  into effect starting from May 1.

Last Tuesday, social media pages circulated information that the delivery of remittances to citizens will be limited to Syrian pounds in all exchange and remittance companies and offices, which the governor of the Central Bank of Syria denied yesterday in a statement quoted by the Syrian News Agency (SANA).

Sources in the exchange and remittance companies in Damascus told "Syrian News" that they received, on Tuesday, April 21, a circular to stop the delivery of foreign remittances except in Syrian pounds, according to a bulletin of exchange rates for remittances that are adjusted on a daily basis.

According to the circular, all incoming foreign remittances are disbursed and delivered exclusively in Syrian pounds, according to the official approved exchange rate bulletin, and it also stipulates that the fund's employee is obliged to inform the customer of the approved exchange rate before completing the delivery process, in order to ensure transparency in the procedures.

A number of citizens confirmed to "Syrian News" that they noticed yesterday that banners inside exchange companies in the Mezzeh area of Damascus were suspended for a special price for the exchange rate of remittances, which was 12750 SYP yesterday, while the normal exchange rate in the same company was 12850 SYP.

The Central Bank of Egypt Clarifies Its New  Mechanism for Delivering Remittances

On Thursday evening, the Central Bank of Syria issued  an  explanatory statement on the circulars that circulated in the past days, on social media platforms, including a circular attributed to one of the exchange companies, regarding the mechanism of delivering remittances, in order to ensure accuracy and prevent confusion.

In the statement published on its Telegram channel, the Central Bank said that the circular attributed to one of the exchange companies is inaccurate, as it was issued before any official decision was issued by the bank, and included a claim that all remittances are delivered in Syrian pounds, which is not true.

The Central Bank explained that its decision on the delivery of remittances was limited to remittances received through rapid transfer companies such as "Western Union" and the like, and it stipulated that they should be delivered in Syrian pounds according to the price of the Central Bank of Syria's bulletin with a margin for pricing, to reflect the market price, in order to achieve balance and serve the interest of customers.

 The Central Bank of Syria considered that there is no contradiction between what was issued and what is being circulated, and that what was stated in the unofficial circular referred to is not reliable, indicating that it "responded to requests from the transfer companies to postpone the implementation of the decision until May 1, in order to allow the necessary time to complete the required technical readiness."

The Central Bank stressed that "all other remittances will continue to be delivered in the currency in which they are received, or its equivalent in Syrian pounds in accordance with the regulations in force, and according to the desire of the beneficiary," according to him.

The Central Bank of Egypt Meets with Representatives of MoneyGram and Western Union Networks

"Syrian News" learned that  a meeting was held at the Central Bank of Syria building with representatives of banks, exchange companies, and internal remittance companies contracted with the international remittance networks "MoneyGram", "Western Union Shift", and others, during which it was confirmed that the delivery of remittances in Syrian pounds and at a balanced average exchange rate, between the exchange rate issued by the Central Bank of Syria and the price announced in the parallel market.

The meeting ended with the commitment of banks, exchange companies, and internal remittance companies contracted with the international remittance networks "MoneyGram", "Western Union Shift", and others to hand over to the beneficiaries all remittances received from the mentioned networks in Syrian pounds, and this is stipulated in the first article of the Central Bank's decision.

The average exchange rate of the US dollar currency mentioned in the bulletin issued by the Central Bank of Syria plus the maximum or minimum price margin specified in the body of the said bulletin, with the need to take the necessary measures in terms of agreeing with the international transfer networks on a specific price policy.

The average price in the official daily exchange rate bulletin issued by the Central Bank of Syria is calculated in the Syrian pound against foreign currencies, based on the buy and sell prices mentioned in the bulletin for each foreign currency, while the price margin is set at 15% of the foreign currency exchange rate (whatever it may be).

The decision was based on the provisions of Law No. 23 of 2002 and its amendments to the "Basic Currency Law", the Prime Minister's Decision No. 189 dated March 18, 2025, which obliged the Central Bank of Syria to unify exchange rate bulletins, and a letter from the Central Bank's Banking Operations Directorate No. "8/560/P" on April 16, 2026 regarding the delivery of foreign remittances in Syrian pounds>

5 Prices to the Dollar in Syria

After the Central Bank's decision, the remittance exchange rate was added to 4 prices that existed practically in Syria, namely the official rate (11,000) approved by the Central Bank of Syria, which expresses an administrative exchange rate through which very limited remittances (public institutions, credit lines, and limited support) are carried out, and its trading value does not exceed 5-10% of the actual volume of foreign exchange demand.

The second is the dollar price of fuel, which is used to price oil derivatives and the price of a dollar for the parallel market, in addition to the dollar price of food commodities, which is the real economic price of the consumer, and is used in the pricing of food imports that are subject to financing operations through non-banking methods (external transfers through intermediaries, balances abroad, and informal clearing), and these mechanisms bear significant additional costs (commissions, risks, and delays), which raises the actual price of the dollar to levels sometimes up to 18,000-20,000 pounds.