Money in Sri Lanka: cash, cards, ATMs and tipping

The currency and the rate

The Sri Lankan rupee (LKR, written Rs) comes in notes from 20 to 5,000; the 100 and 500 notes are easily confused. Mid-market rates on 6 November 2026: USD 1 = LKR 332.4, EUR 1 = 373.3, GBP 1 = 447.4, AUD 1 = 231.2, INR 1 = 3.52. Bank cash rates are 1 to 2% worse. The rupee weakened during 2026, from about LKR 317 to 320 per dollar in the spring to about 335 in August according to news reports, and was 332 in early November. Our prices are in USD and anything set in rupees (temple tickets, the Dambulla cave temple, botanic gardens) is converted at LKR 332.5 to the dollar, the rate we set on 6 November 2026.

Cash

Rupees generally cannot be bought abroad. Change at the bank counters in the arrivals hall, whose rates are usually better than hotels, and keep the receipts if you may want to change rupees back. Bring clean, undamaged notes; torn or heavily marked foreign notes are refused. Declare foreign currency above USD 15,000 on arrival (a declaration receipt is issued) and above USD 10,000 when leaving; a 2020 Central Bank release and the Customs passenger page both give the USD 15,000 arrival threshold, and the older USD 10,000 figure on some tourism pages is out of date. Cash dominates outside the cities: small restaurants, tuk-tuks, temple donations, market stalls and most guesthouses.

Cards and ATMs

Visa and Mastercard are accepted in hotels, larger restaurants and shops in cities and resorts; American Express much less. Many merchants add a 3 to 5% surcharge on card payments (Rough Guides, 2026); surcharging is officially not allowed, but you will meet it. Card fraud and skimming are reported, so use ATMs inside banks or hotels and cover the keypad.

ATMs of the main banks (Commercial Bank, Sampath, HNB, Bank of Ceylon, People's Bank, NTB, Seylan) take foreign Visa and Mastercard. Typical per-withdrawal caps are LKR 20,000 to 40,000, about USD 60 to 120, so plan several withdrawals or carry more foreign cash. Local ATM fees of LKR 300 to 1,000 per withdrawal are reported but we could not verify them. Banks open Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 13:00 or 15:00.

How you pay us

Nothing to pay now. You pay in cash when the trip starts: to your driver when the booking includes our vehicle, otherwise to the person we name with the meeting point. No deposit, no card details online. Prices are in US dollars. Rupee amounts shown beside them are approximate, and we confirm the exact rupee amount for you to bring. Plans change? Cancel free up to 24 hours before pickup. Inside 24 hours, tell us at once: your driver has held those days for you and turned other work away. Your receipt lists every line, with entrance tickets at the fee we last found and, on multi-day trips, our 8% Trip planning and support fee on vehicle and hotels. That line is our fee; tickets and activities carry none.

If you want to pay a Sri Lankan business from abroad, note that PayPal receiving only launched in Sri Lanka on 15 May 2026 (Bank of Ceylon, Commercial Bank and Sampath), Stripe is not available, and Wise cannot send rupees to Sri Lanka; bank transfers and local card gateways are the norm.

Service charge and taxes

Hotels and most restaurants add a 10% service charge to the bill. It is an industry convention distributed to staff, not a tax, and it means a further tip in restaurants is optional. On top of that, hotel bills carry a 2.5% Social Security Contribution Levy and 18% VAT, which is why room rates are quoted as 'nett' or '++'. All our prices include service charge, SSCL and VAT; there is nothing to add at check-out for included services. The exception is the compulsory gala dinner most resorts charge on 24 and 31 December: when your nights include those dates we add an estimated line to your price.

Tipping: conventions, not rules

There is no official tariff. These are the ranges published by guidebooks and operators, unverified by us and always discretionary. An official guideline for city tours bars drivers from soliciting tips.

Small costs to expect

A tourist SIM at the Dialog counter in the arrivals hall: LKR 1,399 (about USD 4) for 20 GB, 1,799 for 30 GB, 2,450 for 50 GB, taxes included, passport required. Bottled water and king coconut at the roadside, a few hundred rupees. Shoe storage at Dambulla, LKR 20 to 200. The stilt fishermen at Koggala ask about LKR 1,000 per group to be photographed; agree it first. Facts last checked 7 November 2026.