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UK banks stop trading Qatari riyals

June 30, 2017 at 2:59 pm

Britain’s Lloyds Banking Group said today that it has stopped trading Qatari riyals and that the currency is no longer available for sale or buy-back at its high street banks.

A spokeswoman for the bank said a “third-party supplier” that carries out its foreign exchange service had ceased trading in the currency from 21 June.

Suspending trading:

  • Lloyds Bank
  • Bank of Scotland
  • Bank of Scotland
  • Halifax

“This currency is no longer available for sale or buy-back across our high street banks including Lloyds Bank, Bank of Scotland and Halifax,” the spokeswoman said.

Qatar’s central bank said today it will guarantee all exchange transactions for customers inside and outside Qatar without delay, adding that all banks and foreign exchange companies are committed to trading the riyal as usual.

Read: $2.9bn increase in Qatar’s trade surplus

The statement came after media reports said some exchange companies had stopped buying the Qatari riyal, which the central bank called “baseless”.

Exchange company Travelex said yesterday it had resumed purchasing the Qatari riyal globally after a brief suspension “due to business challenges”.