Money, cards and ATMs in Albania

Old lek and new lek

• The currency is the Albanian lek (ALL).
• Prices are frequently quoted in "old lek" - a currency reform decades ago cut a zero, and many Albanians, especially older ones, still quote the pre-reform figure.
• If a price sounds ten times too high, that is why. Ask, or check the written number.
• Cards work in Tirana and the tourist coast, and much less reliably inland.
• Carry cash. Albania is more of a cash economy than anywhere else in this batch.

ATMs

• Always refuse the machine's offer to charge you in your own currency. Dynamic currency conversion at an ATM or a card terminal costs several per cent, every time, and the offer is worded to sound helpful. Choose the local currency and let your own bank convert.
• Use bank ATMs rather than the independent machines in tourist areas, which add their own fee on top.
• Beware the standalone Euronet machines in tourist areas across the region. They add a large fee and push dynamic currency conversion hard. Use a bank's own machine.

Tipping

• Rounding up is normal, 10 per cent for good restaurant service.