Cash in circulation in Tunisia passes TND 30bn

Banknotes and coins in circulation in Tunisia passed TND 30.040bn on 21 August 2026 — about $10.4bn — a record, and more than the central bank's net foreign assets of TND 25.155bn.

The stock added TND 1.753bn in 2024 and TND 4.282bn in 2025, then a further TND 3.164bn in the first eight months of 2026: annual growth of just under 16%.

Analysts attribute part of the rise to a law passed last year that tightened the rules on cheques and raised penalties for bounced cheques, pushing businesses and individuals to withdraw cash to pay. Every dinar outside the banking system is a dinar the banks cannot lend, in a country where the banks are the state's principal creditor.