Libyan online commerce runs in Arabic and in Libyan dinars (LYD), and much of it happens outside formal web stores: sellers post on Facebook pages and classifieds, buyers message them, and payment is made on delivery. Many shops post their stock and prices only on Facebook. Years of bank cash shortages have pushed the Central Bank of Libya and the banks toward cards and electronic payments, so local services such as Sadad, MobiCash and the national payment gateway run by Moamalat, launched with the central bank in 2020, now appear at some online checkouts, although cash on delivery is still the default.
OpenSooq runs a Libya site covering cars, property, jobs and services, and Sooq Libya imports selected products for home delivery to Libyan cities. News readers split between Al Wasat, in Arabic, and English-language outlets such as the Libya Observer and the Libya Herald, which foreign businesses and analysts follow closely.
Google is the search engine in use, and queries in the Libyan dialect compete with Egyptian, Tunisian and Gulf Arabic pages, so ranking checks for Libyan businesses need Libyan connections. Libya has no general data-protection law yet; Law No. 6 of 2022 on electronic transactions and Law No. 5 of 2022 on combating cybercrime contain some rules on handling personal data, and the Central Bank of Libya has set data protection criteria that apply only to banks.
Air travel out of Libya works differently from its neighbours. Every Libyan airline is on the EU air safety list and cannot fly to Europe, so Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways, Libyan Wings and Berniq Airways fly to Tunisia, Egypt, Turkey and other Arab and African destinations from Mitiga airport in Tripoli, Benina in Benghazi and Misrata, and travellers heading to Europe connect through Tunis, Istanbul or Cairo. Many people also cross into Tunisia by road at Ras Ajdir. Fares are often sold in dinars through local travel agencies and their Facebook pages, so the price a Libyan buyer sees can differ from international booking sites.