Lebanon’s currency dilemma: Central Bank of Lebanon explores banknotes printing options

As the General Assembly of the Parliament awaits the final approval of amendments to the law, preparations are ongoing at the Central Bank of Lebanon, which has already decided on printing LBP 500,000 banknotes.

Meanwhile, discussions are underway to choose between printing either LBP 250,000 banknotes or LBP 1 million banknotes. 

 

However, printing larger banknotes would save the Central Bank of Lebanon costs associated with printing, storage, and transportation while facilitating citizens to carry larger quantities of currency and reducing the cost of money transfer and storage for important businesses.

Once the amendments are approved in the General Assembly, the Central Bank will require at least three months for the currency printing process, which takes place in Germany and Malta, and to ship the new banknotes before being introduced into the Lebanese market.

Nevertheless, the Central Bank has unofficially completed preparations regarding the design and technical features of these banknotes for security and safety, according to Annahar newspaper.