FLASH
Shkruar nga Eduard Zaloshnja
According to the data on the website of the Bank of Albania, about 40% of all lek circulating in our economy were outside the banking system at the end of 2023. Under these conditions, the issuance of new Fringo Lek would be an efficient means to introduce the vast majority of Albanian banknotes that circulate outside of them into the banks.
Last year, 10.1 million visitors with foreign passports entered Albania. This year, about 14 million are expected. What do the deserters get with the prices, which are sometimes quoted with "new lek" and somewhere with "old lek"...
In 1926, when Ahmet Zogu was at the head of the country, the first Albanian money, called Lekë, came into circulation. At that time, 100 lek was exchanged for 1 napoleon of gold.
In 1964, when Enver Hoxha was at the head of the country, the new lek came into circulation, in a ratio of 1:10 to the old lek.
Now that 60 years have passed since the new lek replaced the old one (and the 60-year-old Rama is at the head of the country), perhaps the day has come for a new fringo lek to be put into circulation. And this is not simply to eliminate the confusion of foreigners/immigrants with the strange dichotomy of new and old lek - the main reason for the release of a new fringo lek would be to introduce unbanked lek into the banking system.
According to the data on the website of the Bank of Albania, about 40% of all lek circulating in our economy were outside the banking system at the end of 2023. Under these conditions, the issuance of new Fringo Lek would be an efficient means to introduce the vast majority of Albanian banknotes that circulate outside of them into the banks.
In order to realize this goal, a date can be set, within which all the lek in circulation must be presented for exchange with the new fringo lek, according to an official exchange rate - let's say 1 to 70 (how much is the average price of a cup of coffee).
For amounts above a certain limit, banks may be forced by law to open deposits for customers who bring actual money for exchange. While for amounts below that limit, they can give new Fringo lek (if the client wants them in hand). In this way, all lek, clean and dirty, from where they are and where they are not, will be forced to pass through the banking system. And a good part of them, mind you, will stay in it.
Would the cost of producing new banknotes and coins be justified with the introduction of lek into the banking system? This question should be answered by the specialists of the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Albania.
As for ordinary Albanians, and especially for foreign tourists, the final burial of the words "new lek" and "old lek" would be more than welcome...
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