Currency and Money in Sri Lanka

Sri Lankan Currency Exchange Rate

The exchange rate of the Sri Lankan currency is fairly stable, although over the years its value has slowly but surely decreased against the dollar and even the ruble. In 2025, one hundred rupees roughly corresponds to 26 rubles, so to quickly and roughly convert a sum from rupees to rubles, simply divide the cost in rupees by 4, for example: 400 rupees / 4 ≈ 100 rubles. But this is a rough calculation and slightly in favor of the ruble, so it's better to use the currency calculator below and current rates:

Market exchange rate (Sri Lankan rupee) for today (07/07/2026)

• 1000 рупия (LKR) = 230,62 rubles (RUB)
• 1 US dollar (USD) = 334,32 LKR
• 100 rubles (RUB) = 433,61 LKR
• 1 euro (EUR) = 382,42 LKR

Real currency exchange rate *

• 1 US dollar (USD) ≈ 327,63 - 333,65 LKR
• 1 euro (EUR) ≈ 374,77 - 381,66 LKR

* - The real exchange rate is calculated taking into account the fees charged by exchange offices and banks for the exchange. It can also be higher than the calculated one, but if you are offered an exchange rate lower than this, it's a reason to think about finding another place to exchange.

Currency Calculator*

Amount:
from	US dollarrubleeuroSri Lankan rupee ↺
to	US dollarrubleeuroSri Lankan rupee ↺
Result:

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* The calculator converts amounts based on official world currency exchange rates. When exchanging currency at exchange offices, the rate will differ slightly depending on the exchange office's commission.

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* - With the widget enabled, the exchange rate of the selected currency will be displayed in the right sidebar on every page of the site until you disable it yourself.

What money is used in Sri Lanka

The monetary unit of Sri Lanka is the Sri Lankan Rupee (Sri Lankan Rupee). Denoted as LKR and Rs. It is a fairly stable currency, and its exchange rate against world currencies changes rarely and smoothly.

1 rupee is divided into 100 cents. Banknotes in circulation are 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 rupees. Coins are 1, 2, 5 and 10 rupees. 25 and 50 cent coins are rare and practically not used.

You can bring dollars and euros with you to Sri Lanka. There's no particular difference, and you can exchange both. It's customary to pay everywhere in local currency, although tourist services, hotel accommodation, can be paid for in dollars, but it won't be to your advantage. It is categorically not advisable to pay with dollars in markets, shops, or restaurants, because even if they agree to accept such payment, they will give change in local currency at an unfavorable rate.

Which currency to bring to Sri Lanka

In Sri Lanka, you can easily exchange dollars and euros, and these will have the most favorable rate. However, dollars will still be slightly more advantageous than euros, but for amounts of a few hundred, you will hardly feel this difference. We did calculations, and the difference was up to 1% in favor of the dollar, but this already depends on the specific place and the buy/sell rate, it varies at different times and in different places.

It's also important to consider that old-style dollars, i.e., issued before 2013 without the security strip, are accepted reluctantly, not everywhere, and usually with a 2-3 percent discount. Unfortunately, it is precisely these old dollars that are currently available in banks in Russia, while new dollars are practically unavailable or sold at a much higher price. In general, you can exchange old dollars in Sri Lanka without problems, but it's worth considering that you may have to exchange them at a slightly less favorable rate.

Therefore, the conclusion is: if you haven't found new dollars in Russian banks at a reasonable rate, and want to exchange currency more quickly and guaranteed, it's easier to buy euros. And if you're ready to fuss a bit to find a favorable exchange office and bargain for a rate in jewelry shops, then you can exchange old dollars without problems, and it will even be more profitable than with new ones.

If you have Chinese yuan, Thai baht, Malaysian ringgit, UAE dirhams, and some other currencies left, they can also be exchanged in Sri Lanka, but the rate will be less favorable due to high commission.

But there's no point in bringing rubles with you to Sri Lanka at all. You will hardly be able to exchange them, and even if you find an exchange office that accepts rubles, the exchange rate will be predatory. It's impossible to pay with rubles anywhere.

Lately, exchanging non-cash rubles for local currency through money changers on social networks and messengers has become popular. However, the exchange rate from rubles to local currency through them ends up being noticeably less favorable than through cash dollars and euros, so we would currently recommend this option only as a last resort. And don't forget, there's a chance of being scammed in such an exchange.

Where to exchange currency in Sri Lanka

You can exchange currency in Sri Lanka anywhere: in banks, exchange offices, hotels, jewelry and souvenir shops. You can find exchanges in all major cities and tourist areas. However, in remote, less touristy places it will be problematic to find an exchange or the rate will be unfavorable. For example, we couldn't find a good exchange rate even in the famous but very distant resort of Passekudah and Kalkudah. Therefore, it's better to exchange money in advance before traveling to distant resorts, for example, at the airport.

Usually, "private individuals" offer a slightly more favorable exchange than in banks and at Colombo Airport, but even at the airport the rate is quite acceptable, though still somewhat less favorable than in Colombo and at resorts. In general, one of the most favorable exchange rates in the entire country can be found in Colombo in the Colmbo Fort area in jewelry shops and private stores on York Street.

If you decide to exchange already at your holiday destination, then it's best to do it in jewelry shops, there's always the highest rate. The difference between exchanging at a hotel, bank, or tourist exchange compared to a jewelry shop can be 5-10 rupees, meaning that for every 100 dollars you can save 500-1000 rupees (1.5-2.99 USD) at the jewelry shop. Just keep in mind that jewelry shops are more often found in residential areas and commercial city centers, not in tourist districts. In our guides to individual resorts, we talk about exchange points in detail, so we advise studying the information there before your trip.

Also consider that the difference in rates between exchange offices, even those located on the same street opposite each other, can be significant. Even at the airport upon arrival, the rate differs between neighboring exchange offices. So compare several before making a decision.

And in private exchange offices and jewelry shops you can bargain and ask for a rate favorable to you. The traditional assurances "Today the rate is lower than yesterday because the dollar fell sharply" can be heard everywhere, and it's never true. Bargain! Usually, the larger the amount you exchange, the more willing they are to bargain. From our experience exchanging in different places and cities across the country, we can say for sure that when exchanging from 300 dollars or euros they always give a higher rate!.

How and where to exchange rupees back to foreign currency

You can freely exchange local currency back from rupees to dollars or euros at exchange offices in resorts, as well as at the airport upon departure. But it's not advantageous to do this at the airport because not only is the reverse exchange rate itself unfavorable there, but there is also an additional commission. For example, in different exchange offices in the departure area of the airport, it was from 1.5% to 2% with a minimum amount from 500 rupees (1.5 USD) and up to 1000 rupees (2.99 USD). We calculated everything, and in the end, the losses between the buy and sell rates on the same day were almost 5%, which is quite a lot.

Therefore, we advise either to immediately calculate all your trip expenses and exchange as much cash as you'll need or as needed, or to exchange at exchange offices in resorts, not at the airport.

Also, in theory, you can spend leftover rupees at airport duty-free shops, but in practice we couldn't do it. At least at Colombo Airport, they refused to accept rupees everywhere and sent us to other stores, from where they also sent us to other stores and so on in a circle.

Bank cards and ATMs

Bank cards are currently well-established in Sri Lanka. You can pay with international Mastercard or Visa cards in major cities in shops, in large hotels (but not all). Due to imposed sanctions, cards from Russian banks Mastercard, Visa and Mir do not work in Sri Lanka as of 2026.

Unionpay cards work only from banks RSHB (Rosselkhozbank) and ATB. All other Unionpay cards issued earlier, including Gazprombank, Russky Standart, Tinkoff, etc., no longer work. In general, Russian Unionpay cards are accepted in many places, payment goes through without an additional commission.

It's better to open a card in yuan currency, and top it up from rubles to yuan before each purchase for the required amount in the bank's app. We calculated everything, this gives a couple percent advantage compared to payments with a ruble card. It would be even more profitable to top up the card through a brokerage account in the RSHBbroker app, but there is a delay in withdrawing money, so you need to buy currency on the exchange a day or two in advance and immediately withdraw it to the card. We detailed all calculations and comparisons in a separate guide Which UnionPay RSHB card to choose: rubles, yuan, dollars or euros.

Cash withdrawal with Unionpay is also possible, there are many ATMs. But there is a significant commission for withdrawal transactions. For example, currently (2025) under the most popular tariff "Svoja Karta Plus" at RSHB, commission at other banks' ATMs will not be charged only if you had card expenses of more than 30,000 rubles in the previous month. In other cases, the commission will be 3% of the amount and not less than 17 Chinese yuan for cards in yuan, and 1% and not less than 199 for ruble cards. So study the tariffs for your specific card and before each trip, as they can also be changed by banks unilaterally without personal notification.

In addition to your bank's commission, the ATM owner bank also deducts a commission from 200 to 400 rupees for each transaction. The lowest commission is at Bank of Ceylon ATMs, only 80 rupees (0.24 USD). Per one transaction, you can withdraw up to 1,000,000 rupees (2991 USD), maximum 199 banknotes, but these numbers may differ for specific ATMs.

Here is a comparison of Unionpay cards as of 2026:

Import/export of currency to Sri Lanka

You can import any amount of cash in foreign currency into Sri Lanka. However, you need to declare money in any currency if you import or export it in the amount of:

• More than $15,000 equivalent in cash and traveler's checks.
• More than $10,000 equivalent if you are carrying only cash.

Indian and Pakistani currency is prohibited from import/export.

Export of Sri Lanka's national currency is limited to a maximum of 20,000 rupees (approximately 59.82 US dollars, see Sri Lanka currency).

Tipping in Sri Lanka

Tipping in Sri Lanka is not mandatory. However, service staff in hotels, restaurant waiters, taxi drivers, and other personnel will be very grateful for an extra few tens of rupees. Moreover, tips to service staff in a hotel (maids) can almost guarantee the safety of your belongings in the room.

Typically given: tips to drivers, as well as porters in hotels in the amount of $1-2. To a hotel maid for room cleaning – $1-2 per week. To a group guide $1-2, to a personal guide $5-10. It's better to leave tips in local currency, not dollars or euros.

Hotel, bar, and restaurant bills usually already include a GST (Goods and Services Tax) service charge (12.5%), so there is no need to leave tips there.

However, don't be surprised if some locals ask you for money even for just a conversation. This is especially common when visiting attractions and temples. Here, a "helper" might latch onto you as a friend, pretending to be a well-wisher, and then demand money for accompanying you as a guide. Such "helpers" have even approached us in markets or just on the street offering to help find a good cafe or shop. We advise not paying such uninvited guides and refusing their "help" immediately.