The lek in one minute
Albania’s currency is the lek (plural lekë), written ALL on rate boards and receipts. Banknotes come in 200, 500, 1,000, 2,000, 5,000 and 10,000 lek, coins in 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 lek. The box above shows what a euro, a dollar, a pound and a franc are worth in lek today; the rate has moved a good deal over the years, so do not rely on a figure from an old guidebook.
The “old lek” trap
The lek lost a zero in a currency reform decades ago, and many Albanians still say prices the old way. A market seller who asks for “one thousand” very often means 100 lek; a taxi quoted at “five thousand” may be 500. Nobody is trying to cheat you — it is simply how people talk.
If a spoken price sounds ten times too high, ask “lekë të reja?” (new lek?) or have it written down. Printed prices, menus, receipts and card terminals always use new lek.
Cash or card?
Bring a card and plan to carry cash. Visa and Mastercard are accepted in supermarkets, hotels, fuel stations and larger restaurants in Tirana and the bigger towns. Small shops, markets, minibuses (furgona), beach bars, guesthouses and almost everything in villages run on cash.
Where to change money
- Exchange offices (këmbim valutor) are licensed by the Bank of Albania and found on almost every central street. They usually offer the best rates, charge no commission and take a minute. This is where most Albanians change money.
- Banks are safe and give you paperwork, which matters for large sums, but their margins are wider and their hours shorter.
- The airport and hotels are the convenient, expensive option. Change only what you need to reach town.
How to read a rates board
Every board has two columns, written from the office’s point of view. Blerje (buy) is what it pays you for your foreign currency — the number that matters when you arrive. Shitje (sell) is what it charges when you buy foreign currency, for example when you change leftover lek back. The smaller the gap between the two, the better the office.
The “official rate” of the Bank of Albania that you may see quoted online is a reference for accounting; nobody changes money at it. Compare offices with each other instead — that is what our live table does, and the chart shows how far apart they usually are.
Using ATMs
ATMs are easy to find in every town and at the airport, and they dispense lek. Most Albanian banks charge foreign cards a fee per withdrawal, on top of whatever your own bank charges; the machine must show the fee before you confirm, so you can cancel and try another bank. Taking out larger amounts less often keeps the fees down.
If the ATM — or a card terminal in a shop — offers to charge you in your home currency, decline and choose lek. That “service” is dynamic currency conversion, and its rate is reliably worse than your bank’s.
Can I just pay in euros?
Often you can: hotels, tour operators, car hire and many restaurants on the coast quote and accept euros. But change comes back in lek, and the rate the business applies is its own, rarely better than an exchange office’s. For anything beyond the hotel bill, paying in lek is cheaper.
Before you leave
Change leftover lek back before you go — outside Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia very few places will take it. Any exchange office will buy your lek at its sell rate for euros.
The short version
- Bring euros; change them at an exchange office in town, not at the airport.
- Look at the blerje (buy) column, and compare two offices.
- When a spoken price sounds ten times too high, it is old lek.
- At ATMs and card terminals, always choose to pay in lek.
- Carry cash outside the big towns. Change it back before you leave.