Egyptian Banks Cancel Use of Debit Card outside Country

Banks operating in Egypt canceled the use of debit cards outside Egypt that are linked to their customers’ accounts.

A number of banks, including the National Bank of Egypt (NBE) and the Banque Misr, which are state-run banks, the Commercial International Bank (CIB), Credit Agricole Bank and other banks sent a text message to customers’ mobile phones, saying that it had been decided to limit financial transactions conducted via debit credit cards in Egyptian pounds within Egyptian boarders.

It considered that the cards would not work outside the country, whether in local currency or its equivalent in foreign currency.

A prominent banking source revealed to “Sada El Balad” that the instructions issued by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) are part of the internal instructions of the banking system. It comes for the purpose of preserving the state’s foreign exchange capabilities, and preventing any attempts to misuse them in operations that may be suspicious, whether money laundering, terrorist financing, or withdrawals of foreign currency balances, which affects the cash reserve.

The source indicated that the banking system was careful not to repeat the illegal practices carried out by some companies in transferring money abroad at the end of the period last April and May, which caused the withdrawal of approximately $250 million from debit cards per day.