The Central Bank of Syria, in cooperation with the Ministry of Interior, issued 755 warnings to shops and businesses conducting currency exchange and money transfer activities without a license.
The central bank said on its Facebook page on Saturday, October 10, that the warnings followed on-site inspections across ten Syrian governorates.
The inspections, aimed at checking compliance with applicable legislation and identifying legal violations, focused on Damascus, Damascus countryside, Aleppo (northern Syria), Latakia and Tartous (western Syria), Homs and Hama (central Syria), Daraa (southern Syria), Deir Ezzor (eastern Syria), Raqqa (northeastern Syria), and Idlib (northwestern Syria).
The inspections identified the following violations:
– Currency exchange activities conducted in unlicensed shops and businesses.
– Domestic money transfer offices conducting currency exchange activities without obtaining official approval.
The central bank also reported “other issues subject to legal follow-up,” without specifying their nature.
Oversight and Customer Protection
According to the central bank’s statement, these measures extend beyond addressing unauthorized activities to include:
– Protecting customers’ rights and reducing the risks of fraud, transactions involving counterfeit currency, or receiving less than the full amount due.
– Regulating money flows, strengthening financial oversight, and limiting the use of unlicensed entities for illegal activities.
– Reinforcing the legal framework by emphasizing that dealing with duly licensed entities is the fundamental safeguard for secure transactions.
The central bank said it continues to coordinate with the Ministry of Interior and relevant authorities to follow up on violations and complete legal procedures, ensuring enforcement of the laws governing Syria’s financial and banking sector.
IMF Recommendations on Foreign Exchange Oversight
In recommendations included in reports from its successive missions to Damascus, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) emphasizes the need to:
– Accelerate the rehabilitation of the banking and financial sector and strengthen supervisory frameworks to ensure the integrity of transactions.
– Continue strengthening compliance and anti-money laundering frameworks, which is closely linked to regulating unlicensed currency exchange and money transfer activities and limiting money flows outside officially supervised channels.
– Support efforts to regulate foreign exchange markets and improve transparency and oversight of foreign currency flows, reducing economic distortions, multiple exchange rates, and illegal speculation.
40 Currency Exchange Companies Operate in Syria
In August 2025, the Central Bank of Syria published two lists naming 14 duly licensed and registered currency exchange companies and 26 companies that had received preliminary licenses to conduct currency exchange and money transfer activities and had previously operated in northern Syria, bringing the total to 40 companies.
In a statement at the time, the central bank said, “Citizens must limit their currency exchange and international money transfer transactions to the 40 exchange institutions identified in the attached lists to ensure ease of dealing with them.”
The first list issued by the central bank includes 14 licensed and registered exchange companies and offices: Diyar, Light, Dou, Zamzam, al-Nidal, First, al-Fouad, Blink, Sham, Dahab, Shakhashero, Arnous and Partner, Ziad Hussein and Partner, and Hijazi, Samman and Baroudi.
The second list included currency exchange and money transfer companies in “areas that were under the control of revolutionary forces before the fall of the regime.” Their status was brought into compliance, under central bank Decision No. “199/ل.إ,” with the laws and regulations applicable to licensed exchange institutions registered in the register maintained by the central bank’s Government Commission for Banks.
These companies are: al-Ittihad, al-Amal, al-Andalus, al-Khawaja, al-Fateh, al-Mithaq, Okan, Usul, Tiger, Tema, Dar al-Mal, Doviz, Rudiyum, Sultan, Souriana, Safi, Tayf, Gold Master, Qasioun, Qurtuba, Capital, Crypto Home, Mada, Masar, Money Out, and Yaqut Plus.
Granting these companies preliminary licenses means they can now operate freely in markets across all governorates, including Damascus and Aleppo, subject to the Central Bank of Syria’s requirements and the laws and regulations governing their activities, under the supervision of the central bank’s Government Commission for Banks.