Syria to start currency swap on January 1, central bank governor says

By Reuters 25 December 2025, 4:10 pm

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File: Stacks of Syrian pound banknotes are piled on top of each other at a currency trader's stall at a market in the city of Manbij on January 4, 2025. (Aaref WATAD / AFP)

Syria will start swapping old banknotes for new ones under a plan to replace Assad-era notes starting from January 1, 2026, Central Bank Governor Abdelkader Husrieh says.

Husrieh announces the introduction of the new Syrian currency, saying the decree “sets January 1, 2026, as the start date for the exchange process.”

Sources familiar with the matter told Reuters in August that the country will issue new banknotes, removing two zeros from its currency in an attempt to restore public confidence in the severely devalued pound.

The step is intended to strengthen the Syrian pound after its purchasing power collapsed to record lows following a 14-year conflict that ended with President Bashar al-Assad’s ouster in December.