I had the same experience last week in Libya - very simple to change money anywhere, at the airport, the hotel - no-one asked for any form of identification, in fact, at the airport, I had to ask THEM for a receipt for business expense purposes.
I saw several ATMs, but they are not yet widespread enough to rely on ATMs as your sole source of money. Be aware that if the phone or internet connection goes down, so does the ATM, and so does your ability to pay for anything with a credit card. I stayed at the Bab El Bahar hotel (big convention hotel in downtown Tripoli), and the credit card machine was 'broken' both times I stayed there.
In short - it's still a cash economy, but at least now it is quick and easy to exchange the cash.
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