Is Euro the Romanian currency starting with 2020?

In 2014, Romania’s Convergence Report set as a target the date of 1 January 2019 as the date when Romanian currency will be euro.

In 2015, the targeted date was changed from 2019 to 2020.

Now we are in 2020 the official currency of Romania is still leu with plural lei.

You are probably wondering what happened and which is the reason why the Romanian leu was not exchanged for EURO.

Well, there are a lot of things that happened over the years which caused the postponement of the euro adoption.

Romania currency

Well, there are a lot of things that happened over the years which caused the postponement of the euro adoption.

Romanian currency was not exchanged to Euro

First of all, we have to talk about the failure of the reforms adopted by the Romanian Government.

And then about the political instability not to forget about the fact that most of the criteria required by the EU have not been fulfilled.

So, that is why we are in 2020 and if you plan to visit Romania you have to have Romanian’s currency in your pocket.

The most commonly used banknotes are : 1 leu, 5 lei, 10 lei, 50 lei, 100 lei and 200 lei while 500 lei banknote is rarely used.

I bet that in your country you will not find to buy Romanian leu, but this is not a problem at all.

My advice is to buy lei directly from Romania, once you get here.

Don’t buy lei from the airport exchange offices, better withdraw some money from your card once you land to have for the taxi!

No! Try to avoid buying foreign currency from these places because the exchange rates used by those offices are very bad for you as a buyer!

Hold your money and better exchange your money to a bank or why not use your credit card and withdraw lei directly from a cash machine!

These are the new essentials you have to pack for your trip

In the airport are cash machines from where you can withdraw Romanian currency and the only commissions applied are the ones from the bank where you have the card.

It will be much cheaper for you to withdraw money than to exchange them at the airport offices!

Travel anywhere without worries

Not to be fooled by all kind of people, please know that the average exchange rate for euro and dollars are the following:

1 USD = 4.5 Romanian lei
1 EUR= 4.8 Romanian lei

The subdivision of leu is ban, more precisely 100 bani, so if you go to a restaurant and see on your bill 188.5 it means 188 lei and 50 bani.

The history of the Romanian national currency starts in 1867 when the currency was born. Over the years the currency had a very unstable history, a thing reflected in the numerous denominations it has. From 1867 to 2020, the currency was denominated three times:

1st time in 1947 when 20.000 lei old lei = 1 new leu

2nd time in 1952 when any range between 20 to 400 old lei became 1 new leu

3rd time in 2005 when 10.000 old lei = 1 new leu.

In 2003, the highest exchange rate was recorded when 40.000 lei = 1 USD.

There is still a long road to go to Romania until they will adopt the EURO.

There are many thick boxes that need to be filled and many reforms to be adopted until the Romanian people will be able to adopt the EURO.

Until then, Romanian currency is still the leu.

Romania currency

The actual COVID 19 crises are not helping at all and the Romanian economy is struggling to maintain the exchange rate at a reasonable level.

On the other hand, for the tourists perspective, this is a good thing. It is a very cheap country and visiting it does not imply a considerable financial effort for international travel.

Just to get you an idea about what I am talking about, the prices for car rental start at 30 USD per day and this is one of the greatest ways to explore the country.

Most of the attractions are spread all over the country, so the car gives you the mobility and freedom needed to explore the whole area.

Get the best price for your car rental today

Once you have some lei in your pocket and the key from the rented car,  let your Romanian adventure begin!