How to exchange currency in Georgia and find a profitable currency exchange office in Tbilisi - local features.

National currency of Georgia –"lari". On the international market, it is called "GEL", so do not get confused: there is only one currency here.

The lari is quite young in age, as it appeared only in 1995, when the National Bank announced the appearance of a new national currency and put it into circulation. And at the moment, all official operations are carried out only in it.

There is also a national rating of the popularity of the exchange of different currencies in the country. So, in Georgia it looks like this. The US Dollar (USD) is in the first place, followed by the Euro (EURO), the Turkish Lira (₺), the British Pound (£) and the Russian Ruble (RUB) are in third place.

Less popular are the Armenian Dram (AMD) and the Ukrainian Hryvnia (UAH), so they can only be exchanged in major banks, such as, for example, TVS Bank.

Being in Tbilisi or any other Georgian city, if you pay for something in a non-national currency, you get a large fine of 500 Lari, so upon arrival you need to find a currency exchange office with a favorable rate. There can be no problems with this, since it can be done almost everywhere in the capital. There are many banks and special offices around the city. The easiest way to find them is at the exit from the subway, in almost every hotel, large shopping center, and so on.

It is most convenient to do this in special exchangers. The process is quite simple and does not require any documents. In addition, these offices work legally, which means that it is safe and convenient to exchange here, since they work late.

The only nuance is that if you see an extremely profitable lari rate with them, then be sure to pay attention to the commission, which in such cases can reach up to 28%. It's rare, but it still happens.

Therefore, we advise you to make sure that you have studied all the terms of the exchange before agreeing. To do this, it is better to clarify how much you will get in the end. To learn more about currency exchange in Georgia, read our article on this topic. It contains information about tariffs in exchangers and banks of the capital.

Taxi payment is mainly carried out only with cash, if the order has not been completed by application. For more information on this topic, we have also prepared an article for you.

In the capital, almost everywhere you can pay with Mastercard, Eurocard, VISA, Cirrus and Maestro credit cards in large hotels and stores. But in the private sector in small towns, be sure to carry cash in the form of Lari. At the same time, it is advisable to change them immediately into small bills: 1-10 Lari, so that there will be no problems with finding change later. If you often come to Georgia, then it may make sense to open a foreign currency account in Tera Bank.

Travelers from CIS countries should exchange their national currency for Dollars or Euros before traveling. Thus, it will be much easier to make an exchange in Georgia for Lari.