The Moldovan lei will be accepted for currency exchange operations and banking transactions in Romania. This will be possible owing to the cooperation with Banca Comercială Română and Banca Transilvania, IPN reports, quoting the National Bank of Moldova. At the request of the National Bank, the largest two licensed banks of Romania, which together have a share of about one third of the Romanian banking market, will start to exchange Moldovan lei (MDL) for Romanian lei (RON). One of these will also launch a service to transfer cash in Moldova lei.

The MDL/RON currency exchange service will be available from October 1, 2018 from branches and facilities in the main cities of Romania. The launch calendar and additional details about the new services will be communicated separately by the two banks. Banca Comercială Română is the only shareholder of Banca Comercială Română Chișinău SA, while Banca Transilvania is a majority shareholder, together with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, of BC Victoriabank SA.

The complex and innovative project is supported by the central banks from both sides of the Prut in a bid to simplify the life of Moldovan citizens who study or work in Romania and of the travelers from both of the countries. Romania is the top commercial partner of Moldova with a share of 26% of Moldova’s exports and of 14% of its imports in the first half of this year. In the tourism sector, Romania is the third destination country for Moldovans, with about 15% of the travelers according to the data for the first eight months of this year. The Romanian citizens represented 20% of all the tourists who visited the Republic of Moldova in the period, placing Romania the first among the countries of origin of foreign visitors.

According to the National Bank, the broad acceptance of the Moldovan lei for currency exchange operations outside Moldova’s borders is a novelty and is an additional step towards strengthening the credibility and convertibility of the national currency.