Recipients Gain Currency Choice
The Central Bank of Syria has amended its rules on incoming international money transfers, allowing people who receive remittances to choose whether they are paid in Syrian pounds (SYP) or in available foreign currency. The change took the form of an amendment to Article 1 of Management Committee Decision No. 235/L, which was originally dated 21 April 2026.
Under the revised rule, the currency a recipient receives is determined by their own preference and by the available capacity of the institution handling the transfer at the moment of payout.
Who Must Comply
The decision binds licensed banks authorized to handle foreign currency, money exchange companies, and licensed remittance firms. Each of these institutions must now present recipients with the option of either currency rather than defaulting to a single one.
The measure applies to funds arriving through international transfer services, naming MoneyGram, Western Union, and Shift among the channels covered.
The Stated Aim
The monetary authority described the step as part of a wider effort to develop financial transfer services and to broaden the choices available to people collecting money sent from abroad. It also pointed to improving the quality of banking services and meeting the everyday needs of citizens.
A Lever Over Dollarization
The currency in which remittances are paid out matters for how households hold value in an economy where many prices track the US dollar (USD). By formally letting recipients retain transfers in foreign currency instead of an automatic conversion to pounds, the rule hands families more control over whether they keep hard currency or move into the local unit.
Remittances from Syrians living abroad remain a major source of household income and of foreign exchange entering the country, which gives any change to how they are delivered a reach beyond the banking counter.
Built on an Earlier Framework
The amendment does not start from scratch. It revises the April 2026 framework that first set out how licensed institutions should pay out international transfers, adjusting a single article to introduce the element of recipient choice.