In a move aimed at strengthening confidence in the national currency and rehabilitating the monetary structure, the Central Bank of Syria (CBS) announced advanced stages of developing a plan issuing new banknotes, designed according to the highest international technical standards adopted by central banks.
This announcement comes within the framework of the broader reform program implemented by the bank, aiming to modernize payment and cash circulation systems, improve their efficiency, and support financial stability in the country. The new notes should positively impact daily transactions for citizens.
Stabilizing the Currency Without Devaluation
The bank emphasized this step comes as a result of a comprehensive assessment of the needs of the local market and the reality of cash circulation, within a strategic vision that primarily aims to improve the physical quality of circulating banknotes and enhance their reliability.
The process will be conducted in a proper and complete manner, in accordance with the provisions of the law regulating the bank’s operations (Law No. 23 of 2002). Print quantities will be carefully considered and proportionate to the size of the national economy, within the limits of the existing monetary policy, without any impact on the money supply or the value of the Syrian pound (SYP).
To ensure the highest levels of security and quality, the new banknotes will be printed by two or three reliable international sources, using the latest anti-counterfeiting technologies enhancing the protection of customer rights while ensuring the integrity of monetary transactions.
The CBS identified a number of benefits and positive outcomes expected from the issuance process, including simplifying daily cash transactions, improving liquidity management, supporting the efficiency of monetary policy, enhancing inflation control, enhancing confidence in the banking system, protecting small depositors, and enabling broader financial reforms and consolidating confidence in the SYP as a primary instrument of exchange.
Transparency and Communication
Based on its commitment to transparency and effective institutional communication, the bank announced its readiness to launch a comprehensive national awareness campaign once all elements of the plan are completed and the relevant parties are consulted on logistical arrangements. This campaign aims to clarify all details to citizens and economic entities and answer all their inquiries.
The bank concluded its statements by emphasizing that the issuance of the new currency is a purely technical and regulatory procedure, not linked to any change in the monetary mass or inflationary trend. It also reaffirmed its full commitment to ensuring monetary stability and exchange rate integrity achieved in the recent period. The primary objective, says the CBS, of all its policies is to protect the SYP’s purchasing power and enable the financial sector to fulfill its role in supporting economic growth and overall stability.
