LebGeeks

xazbrat

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

It didn't help that the guy was trying to get about $25K I guess.

Seriously, trying to buy $25K from some random guy off the street?

Not really a random guy---sort of runs/owns an OMT branch, so there are customers there for other reasons.

rolf

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I am selling EUR at the free market rate.

Last edited by rolf (January 29 2020)

Dan28

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Bank Audi stopped exchanging lbp to usd, i have novo debit card.. they told me the account should be in usd to allow online usd payments, i had a shipment stuck at easyshop and i needed 44$ to release it before it passes the 14 days storage period.
i bought 100usd for 215,000 L.L, went back to the bank, they said they are not opening usd accounts. i called all my friends and told them to ask their banks. Fransa Bank agreed to load the online card if i pay cash in usd.. and thats what happened. so much trouble for a small payment. shipping from abroad was hard before the crisis, now its almost impossible.

infiniteloop

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

There are LOT of $ cash in Lebanon but the exchange places are holding them to raise the price, these people established a terrible mafia with political cover

Hybrid

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

There are LOT of $ cash in Lebanon but the exchange places are holding them to raise the price, these people established a terrible mafia with political cover

It was mentioned in several places, the banks are giving the exchanges the $$$, so is the central bank

kareem_nasser

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

There are LOT of $ cash in Lebanon but the exchange places are holding them to raise the price, these people established a terrible mafia with political cover

It was mentioned in several places, the banks are giving the exchanges the $$$, so is the central bank

Aside from this, there are USD notes at homes with estimations saying around 2-3 Billion.....why?

rolf

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

There are LOT of $ cash in Lebanon but the exchange places are holding them to raise the price, these people established a terrible mafia with political cover

What are your sources?

VincentKeyboard

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I am selling EUR at the free market rate.

I am selling Martian dollars at early adopter rate. Invest now before Elon Musk sends us all to Mars.

Last edited by VincentKeyboard (January 31 2020)

Kareem

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I'm exchanging at 2150 per dollar ( selling USD )... If you go to a random exchange office, they will ask for 2000LL but goodluck with that... No one is willing to sell USD at a rate lower than 2100 LL.

woods

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Bank Audi stopped exchanging lbp to usd, i have novo debit card.. they told me the account should be in usd to allow online usd payments, i had a shipment stuck at easyshop and i needed 44$ to release it before it passes the 14 days storage period.
i bought 100usd for 215,000 L.L, went back to the bank, they said they are not opening usd accounts. i called all my friends and told them to ask their banks. Fransa Bank agreed to load the online card if i pay cash in usd.. and thats what happened. so much trouble for a small payment. shipping from abroad was hard before the crisis, now its almost impossible.

I deal with Audi too.

My online limit in January 2020 was reduced to 48$ a month on my LBP debit card (or equivalent to 80,000 LBP). Note that during December 2019, I bought several Christmas gifts online for a total of around 700$, Audi charged me around 4.5% currency conversion fees back then.

As of 1/2/2020, BLF cards are faring the best in terms of limits on foreign currencies and online transactions.

Guitaret

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Just an update of what is happening: The banks have reduced the allowed weekly limits by half and forced exchange offices to buy it from you @ 2000 LL (otherwise they will close the shop). This is a new extreme illegal measure to make you forfeit your USD balance for LL. Soon after all online external transactions are stopped you would come back running for exchange offices to buy it @ ridiculous prices.

duke-of-bytes

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Bank Audi

Credit Libanais

Blom Bank

Johnaudi

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Contacted a Lebanese hotel in Beirut to inquire on their exchange rate as their pricing was in dollars in booking.

"We only accept USD."

Haha. Damn it.

Kareem

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Contacted a Lebanese hotel in Beirut to inquire on their exchange rate as their pricing was in dollars in booking.

"We only accept USD."

Haha. Damn it.

OK but you can sue them.

Johnaudi

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Contacted a Lebanese hotel in Beirut to inquire on their exchange rate as their pricing was in dollars in booking.

"We only accept USD."

Haha. Damn it.

OK but you can sue them.

Although I can, I'd rather simply not go for them, quite a waste of time tbh, it's two hotels doing that so far. Some of them are taking 2000L.L for the dollar which makes it weird on whatever services they're importing.

Guitaret

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Contacted a Lebanese hotel in Beirut to inquire on their exchange rate as their pricing was in dollars in booking.

"We only accept USD."

Haha. Damn it.

Honestly, this is confusing to me. I have a USD bank account and businesses I deal with prefer getting paid using my CC. I mean what is the deal if you cannot withdraw it from the bank nor transfer it outside. I will definitely pay them using my CC over 2000LL.

Hybrid

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Contacted a Lebanese hotel in Beirut to inquire on their exchange rate as their pricing was in dollars in booking.

"We only accept USD."

Haha. Damn it.

Honestly, this is confusing to me. I have a USD bank account and businesses I deal with prefer getting paid using my CC. I mean what is the deal if you cannot withdraw it from the bank nor transfer it outside. I will definitely pay them using my CC over 2000LL.

Maybe their bank account is not in Lebanon. Plus if it's in Lebanon, you can still transfer USD to your employees, or if they are making LBP from somewhere else, they will pay their employees at the 1500LBP rate, and keep the USD for themeselves

Last edited by Hybrid (February 5 2020)

Tech Guru

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

New "kind of unified"  Banks Capital Control. Sure peeple with coercive power ( politicians ,  head of banks ,  MPs , Ministries , Heads of Security Agencies ... ) no capital control will be applicable. All withdraws / transfers has been & are & will be undercover. Second,  the further control on Dollar withdraw will push dollars / LBP  exchange further higher in the black market. Expect further inflation in a dollarized economy.

Last edited by Tech Guru (February 8 2020)

Tech Guru

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Sold USD yesterday at 2300 to an exchanger near by.

Lebanon has Eurobonds commitments to pay in March & April ~ The country has USD 2.5 billion in principal and USD 1.9 billion in coupon payments on Eurobonds due in 2020. It also needs to open credits for wheat ,  gazoline ,  government sector ,  army ... tolling to approximately 5 - 6 USD Billion / 2020 for obligatory payments. BDL has ~ 40 USD billion in liquidity / Gold Deposits. With repetitive yearly obligations & further loans expect more inflation rate , loss of further LBP currency purchasing power ,  increased USD/LBP ,  and a possible hair cut from depositors bank amounts.

Last edited by Tech Guru (February 9 2020)

ahb21

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I know it's not directly related to the topic, but it is tangentially related.
Anyways, any ideas on how I can move my money outside of Lebanon? I'm emigrating at the end of the month and as long as the banks don't allow transfer to outside of the country then I'm stuck.
I was planning on emigrating before the crisis, had everything in order except for selling my stuff. I got really screwed with the exchange rate. Especially with the amount of people trying to lowball me into selling it for $5000 thinking I'm desperate when its worth double that amount.

Johnaudi

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I know it's not directly related to the topic, but it is tangentially related.
Anyways, any ideas on how I can move my money outside of Lebanon? I'm emigrating at the end of the month and as long as the banks don't allow transfer to outside of the country then I'm stuck.
I was planning on emigrating before the crisis, had everything in order except for selling my stuff. I got really screwed with the exchange rate. Especially with the amount of people trying to lowball me into selling it for $5000 thinking I'm desperate when its worth double that amount.

Go with the haircut if necessary. Tell the bank you want them as LBP and withdraw all LBP, then go to the exchanges, purchase fresh dollars, at the black market rate, then go back to the bank for the transfer as fresh dollars.
Expect to lose ~40% of value.

Last edited by Johnaudi (February 10 2020)

Kareem

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I know it's not directly related to the topic, but it is tangentially related.
Anyways, any ideas on how I can move my money outside of Lebanon? I'm emigrating at the end of the month and as long as the banks don't allow transfer to outside of the country then I'm stuck.
I was planning on emigrating before the crisis, had everything in order except for selling my stuff. I got really screwed with the exchange rate. Especially with the amount of people trying to lowball me into selling it for $5000 thinking I'm desperate when its worth double that amount.

You can do what I did... If you have a bank account abroad, you have to find someone who wants to transfer money to lebanon  ( if he has a loan payment etc.. )  and see with him if he can instead send the money to your account abroad. You will need to pay his bank directly in lebanon via internal transfer.

rolf

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I know it's not directly related to the topic

From a classical perspective, your problem is how to get money out of banks. Just get as much as you can, in a month it may not be everything, due to the limits. Maybe if you have someone you trust, you can give them a "procuration" and they they can do regular withdrawals while you are not here (make sure to give them something in exchange).

Then of course you need to convert them to Dollars or Euros or any of the other "international currencies".

Then just carry them cash unless you have like a big amount in which case... I do not feel like you need my help.

From a "creative" perspective maybe you can find some creative solution like Kareem suggested.

Last edited by rolf (February 10 2020)

Johnaudi

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

Finding someone that wants to transfer money to Lebanon is creative indeed. @rolf

Dan28

Member

Re: Lebanese lira to USD exchange

I any ideas on how I can move my money outside of Lebanon?

withdraw lbp, buy bitcoins, exchange to usd abroad :)