Bank transfers in Georgian Lari (GEL)
Brief historical background
The first coins in Georgia appeared in the VI century and were called "kolkhuri tetri", which means "silver".
Georgian lari (GEL) was circulated as a national currency in 1995. The GEL symbol appeared only in 2014, and the Georgian letter "lasi" was used for it.
One lari consists of one hundred tetri units, with the same name as the first coins that appeared in Georgia. Georgian lari are issued both as coins and banknotes. Banknotes with a high degree of anti-counterfeiting protection — these banknotes are produced in Germany — stand out.
The banking system started to develop actively in the 20th century, and Georgia is keeping up with the times and is even ahead of other countries in this respect. Since 2020, the National Bank of Georgia has started to explore the possibility of introducing a central bank digital currency or CBDC — a centralized analogue of cryptocurrencies, or more precisely, stablecoins — into the economy. Moreover, the National Bank made such a commitment to foreign partners. The future CBDC of Georgia was named "Digital Lari".
As early as September 2023, the Georgian government announced plans to start testing the digital lari and created a working group of banks that will participate in a pilot project with the CBDC. The creation of the digital lari is driven by the country's government's desire to join the EU: it is already known that the Georgian central bank's digital currency will be compatible with the digital euro.
Georgian Lari (GEL) exchange rate
On the stock exchange, the price of the GEL currency is 0.37 against the US dollar. Over the last year, the price of the Georgian lari has risen by $0.02. In May 2023, the GEL exchange rate reached $0.40, but it has been falling since then.
Moreover, over the past five years, the exchange rate of the Georgian lari against the US dollar has not changed much. The lowest GEL price reached $0.28 in March 2020 and 2022. However, these were sharp quotation jumps, which quickly returned to normal.
How to make transfers in lari (GEL)
If you are in Georgia, you can send a transfer to a bank office through an online bank or money transfer system. If you choose the second method, you must open an account at a local bank or find someone willing to provide you with one. In other cases, you can send Georgian lari without an open bank account if you have cash, for example. This applies to both international and domestic transfers.
If you need to send GEL from another country to Georgia, you can use an electronic payment system (EPS) or a local money transfer service. You can also transfer through a local bank, but only if the company supports bank transfers in GEL. To do this, you must convert your currency to Georgian lari beforehand. This can be done either in the app or the bank office.
To send a money transfer to Georgia, you need to know the recipient's full name and the bank account number, which is called IBAN. The IBAN code consists of 22 characters and starts with the letter GE.
Whether you are in Georgia or outside Georgia, you can send GEL through an exchanger, stock exchange or broker. With the help of these services, you can exchange currency and immediately send it to the required account using any of the available methods: bank transfer by card or account number, electronic payment systems and others.
This method is especially relevant if you need to exchange cryptocurrency for Georgian lari, as you can't do it through banks. However, you can immediately convert digital assets into the desired currency through an exchange or broker. The method is also suitable for those who, for various reasons, cannot make international bank transfers: you can send funds through the exchange's bank account if it supports transfers in GEL.
Different banks and services may limit the number of transfers, so check this information before converting currency and sending funds if necessary. The same applies to transfer fees.
