A banker reveals the duration of the moratorium on the use of new credit cards abroad to reduce withdrawing dollars

Hisham Ibrahim, banking expert and professor of finance at Cairo University, revealed the reasons for banks stopping the use of new credit cards for a period of 6 months from the date of issuance outside the country.

 He Pointing out that this decision is temporary to confront the increasing demand for cards due to their uncontrolled use abroad.

Increasing demand for issuing new credit cards

Ibrahim added that one of the most important reasons for banks taking this decision is the significant increase in demand from users for issuing new credit cards, and the significant growth in the use of these cards abroad by some banks, explaining that there are some customers who misused these cards by withdrawing dollars. From abroad to resell it again in the parallel market, which bears the bank the costs of managing the currency.

The Central Bank directed banks in verbal instructions a few days ago to address abnormal uses that lead to demand for foreign currency in unjustified ways, as a number of banks suspended the use of new credit cards abroad for a period ranging from 3 to 6 months, starting from December 20 of this year.

Central Bank decision last October

He continued that these steps are a continuation of the decisions of the Central Bank, last October, to confront the misuse of cards that was observed in foreign currency transactions abroad and at home.

  He explained that last October, the Central Bank decided to activate the maximum credit limit granted to the credit card for use abroad as soon as the customer contacted the customer service center of the card-issuing bank and notified them of his travel abroad in accordance with the regulatory procedures applied by the bank, due to the Central Bank’s keenness to meet the needs of citizens and facilitate their use of their credit cards to cover... Their expenses while traveling abroad, especially in light of what has recently been observed by some speculators misusing these cards by making cash withdrawals from abroad without actually traveling.

Bank accounts in various

This decision came as a result of the increasing demand of citizens to open bank accounts in various banks to obtain different local credit cards, and use them to withdraw dollars from abroad, as banks allow their customers to withdraw dollars from outside Egypt after informing them of travel according to the value specified for each customer, which is determined according to the value of the amount in the account and the customer’s credit study.

Responsible banking sources in a number of banks revealed that stopping dealing with new credit cards came after the intensive opening of accounts during the recent period, which put pressure on the dollar. This means that customers will withdraw the dollar according to their cards from abroad, and then instructions came to stop the advantage of these cards obtaining... The dollar from outside Egypt for a period of 6 months so as not to help smuggle the dollar abroad at a time when the country is suffering from a shortage of dollars in the official market.

The Central Bank had decided to regulate the process of withdrawing dollars from local credit and direct debit cards, whether withdrawing from outside Egypt or purchasing online, and setting a limit of $250 for online purchases from websites outside Egypt.