How Libya's currency exchange firms earn 3,740 dinars a day for doing almost nothing

Libya’s decision to involve currency-exchange companies in the personal foreign-currency scheme may have generated an estimated LYD 93.568 million in commissions for 278 companies between May and July 2026.

If distributed equally, this would amount to an average of LYD 336,575 per company over three months, or around LYD 112,191 a month and LYD 3,740 a day. At the official exchange rate of LYD 6.4 to the dollar, the daily average is approximately $584, or about $17,500 a month.

These estimates raise an important question: what service did the companies provide in return?

How the calculation works

According to the figures used by the author, Libya sold $5.286 billion for personal purposes between January and July 2026.

Sales between May and July, the period covered by the calculation, reportedly reached $2.924 billion. August was excluded because the Central Bank of Libya had not published the relevant data when the analysis was prepared.

At an official exchange rate of LYD 6.4 to the dollar, customers paid approximately LYD 18.714 billion for this amount of foreign currency.

The author’s calculation assumes a total commission of 1 per cent, divided equally between commercial banks and currency-exchange companies:

• 0.5 per cent for commercial banks.
• 0.5 per cent for currency-exchange companies.

The combined commission would therefore amount to LYD 187.136 million, leaving each side with LYD 93.568 million.

Dividing the exchange companies’ share among 278 companies produces the estimated average of LYD 336,575 per company.

Commission income is not necessarily profit

The calculation does not mean that every company received the same amount. Transaction volumes are unlikely to have been distributed equally, and some companies may have processed more applications than others.

The estimated amount should also be described as gross commission income, not net profit. Calculating actual profit would require information about staffing, premises, compliance, security, taxes and other operating expenses.

Nevertheless, the scale of the commissions warrants scrutiny, particularly if the technical platform was developed and operated by the Central Bank and the companies’ role was limited.

If the commission was added to the cost paid by applicants, Libyan citizens ultimately financed it. The issue is therefore whether introducing these companies improved access to foreign currency, reduced congestion at banks or delivered a faster and more reliable service.

Limited public evidence of performance

The author reports that some exchange companies do not regularly receive customers at their premises, do not display exchange rates and appear to conduct little ordinary buying and selling activity.

These observations cannot be applied to all 278 companies without a broader field assessment. They nevertheless highlight the need for stronger regulation and public disclosure.

The Central Bank should publish the value and number of transactions processed by each company, their geographical distribution, the commissions paid, the number of customers served and the results of regulatory inspections.

What happened to the exchange rate?

The author also notes that the dollar reportedly traded at around LYD 6.65 before the involvement of exchange companies, compared with approximately LYD 9.30 afterwards.

This comparison does not prove that the companies caused the dinar’s decline. Libya’s parallel exchange rate is affected by public spending, liquidity, commercial demand, speculation, oil revenues, banking restrictions and political uncertainty.

It does, however, raise a legitimate question about the effectiveness of the arrangement. If involving exchange companies did not improve access to foreign currency or reduce pressure on the parallel market, the authorities should explain what benefits justified the additional commission.

The central issue is not simply whether exchange companies received an estimated LYD 93.568 million. It is what they delivered in return, and whether Libyan citizens received a better service for the price they paid.