National Currency of Georgia is the Georgian Lari (GEL) that consists of 100 Tetris. It has been the national currency of Georgia since 1995.
At present there are 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Lari banknotes, while 1 and 2 lari exist as coins. Tetri coins are used in 5, 10, 20, 50 Tetri.
Many restaurants, hotels and bigger shops in the biggest or touristic cities accept credit cards. In main cities or touristic sites there are lots of ATMs. However, if you are heading to some smaller town or settlement it’s recommended to have enough money because in such places money in ATMs can simply run out.
Georgian Lari or GEL can easily be converted to the leading currencies of the world. Georgia has been a member of the International Monetary Fund since 1997.
Visitors of the country can purchase local currency in banks and currency exchange points which are plentiful around the country. However, mind it that exchange rates in banks are always unfavorable, thus it’s better to use services of currency exchange points – most of them are not taking commission fee, you just need to check it – usually it’s written if they do. For more information about exchange rates visit www.nbg.gov.ge