Currency in Lebanon
The currency of Lebanon is the Lebanese pound. It has the ISO 4217 code LBP and the official abbreviation L £.
The Lebanese currency is divided into pounds and piastres, with 1 pound being 100 piasters. There are banknotes of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 250, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 pounds and coins of 5, 10, 25 and 50 piastres and 1, 50, 100, 250 and 500 pounds spent.
However, due to their low value, piaster coins are practically no longer in use today, only coins from 50 pounds and up and banknotes from 1000 pounds.
History of the currency of Lebanon
Before 1939, Lebanon, under a French mandate, had no currency of its own. Rather, the Syrian pound was in circulation alongside the French franc.
A separate currency was not introduced until 1939. However, the Lebanese pound was pegged directly to the French currency for years. Apart from a brief phase in World War II, when the pound was pegged to the British pound, the currency was pegged to the franc until 1949.
When the now independent state of Lebanon was abolished, inflation was very severe, which was economically and politically important unstable country shaken by wars and civil wars put an additional burden.
It was only around 1990 that the situation calmed down and the economic development picked up speed. The Lebanese pound has been pegged to the US dollar since 1997 and is therefore largely stable in value. One US dollar pound is equivalent to around 1,500 Lebanese pounds
Exchange into the currency of Lebanon
If you travel to Lebanon, you will not have any problems with withdrawing or changing money. At Beirut Airport, in the larger cities and in the tourist centers, you can withdraw cash in the local currency with the EC card at all ATMs.
The most common credit cards such as American Express, MasterCard, Diners Club, Eurocard and Visa are accepted practically all over the country in hotels, larger restaurants, car rental companies and almost always in shops.
At least in the capital, Beirut, there are several banks where all major international currencies are exchanged into Lebanese pounds. The larger hotels also often have exchange offices.
In the tourist centers, however, the US dollar is almost always accepted as a means of payment. However, it is usually cheaper to withdraw money in the local currency from an ATM with a credit card at larger banks.
