GEL

In March 2020, GEL/USD exchange rates dropped to 1 USD = GEL 3.4 (I still remember days, when rates were 1 USD, equaled 1.74 GEL). Most of the banks (if not all) act as market makers or they buy low and sell high. A normal business practice. If GEL/USD value drops to 3.4 GEL for 1 USD, there is no guarantee you are going to keep 340 GEL when exchanging 100 USD. Today I decided to test - is it possible to use Transfer Wise to transfer funds inside Georgia and is it possible to transfer from…

Yesterday, on October 16, 2018 I noticed that direct GEL deposits are back again on Mintos.com platform. I first heard about Mintos.com peer to peer lending platform at the start of 2016, later that year I decided to give it a try, as I was looking for investment opportunities especially in Georgia Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links to mintos.com peer to peer lending website, by clicking on links on this page and by making an investment on mintos.com, I might earn affiliate…

It has been a while since I last time examined GEL/USD exchange rates. It seems more than four years have passed already. Back in 2014, I was concerned about GEL exchange rates because I had some deposits in Georgian National currency. Now in 2018 I don't feel anymore too much concerned, because I have diversified a lot across multiple currencies.  I stopped any deposits in GEL back around 2015, after losing some 20% in a month, back then I thought I will never invest again in national…

Investments in Georgia, have been on my focus, probably since the day one since I relocated here (see: Living in Georgia), back in 2011. Unfortunately, it was hard to find a transparent and easy to understand stock exchange. Sure, I found Georgia Stock exchange website, but what I saw there a few years ago, didn't give me a lot of confidence to trust the platform and investigate more, On the other hand, I was more interested in buying stocks, rather investing in bonds. For me, bonds have…

Average salary in the Republic of Georgia at the end of the second quarter (Q2) of 2016 was GEL 1035.98 equaling about USD 389. For the simplicity of further written and calculated, here is the exchange rates I used from Bank of Georgia website on December 14, 2016. USD to GEL: 2.6599 EUR to GEL: 2.8222 If measuring in actual increase that is a huge increase by more than GEL 200 from GEL 773 in 2013. If converted to US dollars that is a drop from $442 in 2013. The truth, as I believe, is…

Yup, another hipster style article about actual prices for consumer goods at local Tbilisi market (Bazroba). It has been a while since I decided to measure how lari/dolar exchange rates influence actual prices, if you, just like me are an expat living in Georgia - you most probably have faced the consequences of weak lari against US dollar. Thus - I don't believe that foreign currency should affect local economy. National currency of Georgia is lari and lari we are spending in markets, metro…

On February 1st, 2016 the National Bank of Georgia issued upgraded Lari banknotes. It was mid February when first upgraded banknote ended up im my hands, I got it at local Procredit ATM.  My first thought was that I have probably by accident pressed EUR account instead of GEL and have taken my money from EUR account, but then I realized it's a new upgraded currency. After I took the following photo I shortly spent it on groceries at local Dezerteer Bazaar. New 50 GEL banknote According to…

A time ago, in September 2014, I started to save some money, I was so eager to save money, that I even started a new category on my blog - 'Savings Reports'. 4 months from my first, and yet latest, Savings report have passed, back then in September I deposited a small amount of sum of 300 GEL, which back then equaled to $169.68 or EUR 131.81. By today's exchange rates 300 GEL would equal to $145.27 or EUR 128.75, which basically means following, since the end of September Georgian national…

n September 2014, I started a journey to build a savings account in the fast-developing economy of Georgia. With a strong command of the Georgian economy, I saw the potential to grow my income from my online sources and put it to work for me in the form of savings. My Income Sources At the time, I was earning my income solely through the internet. My primary sources of income were Google AdSense and affiliate marketing, with the latter accounting for about 90-95% of my total income. Starting…

In this article, I'm sharing notes on how I opened a bank account at ProCredit Georgia Bank back in 2014. Since I originally wrote this article, I have opened several additional bank accounts in Georgia - at Bank Republic for check redemptions (Sold to TBC bank) and Bank of Georgia. If you need consultancy or help with opening a bank account in Georgia, visit the Terramatris website: Opening Bank Account in Georgia There was a law- asking foreigners to register for temporary residence in…