Compare Albanian Lek Exchange Rates in Albania

Getting lek for your trip to Albania

Albania's currency is the lek (ALL). An Exit News guide said in 2020 that it could not be bought outside the country, so most UK visitors get lek on arrival, from a licensed exchange office or a cash machine, and bring pounds or euros to swap.

The lek has been unusually strong. On 29 July 2026 Tirana Times put the euro at a low of 93.62 lek, down from about 140 in 2013, and said that tourism firms selling in euros were having to put their euro prices up. A bill in euros can therefore cost more than the same thing paid in lek.

If you want notes for the first few hours, euros bought in the UK are easier to come by than lek and can be swapped at exchange offices once you land.

Best ways to pay in Albania

Fee-free debit cards

Good for withdrawals and larger bills, but check your provider's overseas terms first: a local bank may add its own charge at the machine.

Credit cards

Handy for hotels, car hire and bigger restaurants. Avoid them for cash, as interest and a cash fee usually start at once.

Cash machines

Found in most towns. Raiffeisen Bank Albania, which runs more than 186, warns that a fee may be added for foreign cards, without giving an amount.

Euros

Many places take them, especially in Tirana, Exit News said in 2020, but at a rate the seller sets. Ask for the lek price and compare.

Using cards in Albania

Card acceptance has been patchy. Exit News wrote in 2020 that card payment was still unusual in many shops and restaurants, though spreading, and tourism has boomed since: the national tourism agency, citing UN Tourism, said in February 2025 that Albania led the world for tourism growth in 2024. No recent survey of card use was found, so carry cash for anything small.

• Hotels, car hire and larger restaurants: usually fine for a card, but ask first
• Small cafes, bakeries and market stalls: bring lek
• City buses: coins and small notes
• Taxis: agree the fare and carry cash
• Beach bars and small coastal businesses: carry cash as a back-up

Tips

• Pay in lek: If a card machine or cash machine asks whether to convert into pounds, decline. Raiffeisen explains that your own card provider then does the conversion.

ATMs in Albania

Raiffeisen Bank Albania says most of its machines work around the clock and that, when you decline conversion, the withdrawal is processed in lek or euros. Exit News noted in 2020 that some machines pay out euros, though few. BKT also has machines, including one at Tirana airport, but what any Albanian bank other than Raiffeisen charges a foreign card is not published.

Cash machines to use

• Raiffeisen Bank Albania: more than 186 machines, most usable at any hour; a foreign-card fee may apply
• BKT: a machine in the check-in area at Tirana airport

Cash machines to think twice about

• Accepting conversion into pounds on the screen
• Many small withdrawals, if each one carries a fee

Check the fee screen, choose lek, and take out fewer, larger sums if a flat charge applies.

Changing money in Albania

Exchange shops, signed kambim valutor, are plentiful in town centres. Bureaus need a Bank of Albania licence, and the central bank publishes the register online, the latest file dated 2026, and Exit News found the small shops usually beat both the airport and card withdrawals. Check the total in lek, count the notes and keep the receipt.

At Tirana airport, the airport lists an exchange desk in the check-in area. Change only what you need there.

Watch for 'old lek'. Some people still speak in the units used before the 1965 reform, which cut a zero, and in a Bank of Albania survey published in 2021, 54% of people misread a 500 lek note, for example by adding a zero. If a price seems ten times too high, ask.

Customs must be told about cash worth 10,000 euros or more, in whatever currency, both on entry and on exit. A first failure to declare is fined 20,000 lek for sums up to 19,999 euros, rising to 60,000 lek above 50,000 euros.

Tipping in Albania

This guide found no reliable source on Albanian tipping customs, so it suggests no amounts.

• Look for a service charge on the bill before adding a tip