Egypt’s central bank extends exemption of domestic transfers from fees until September 15

Egypt’s central bank announced on Sunday it has extended the current exemption of domestic transfers from commission and fees until 15 September.

The exemption is one of a number of measures carried out by the Egyptian central bank in March in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the bank statement, the extension aims at curtailing the use of cash in a bid to contain the pandemic’s negative impacts on individuals’ health and the country’s economy.

The central bank has instructed all banks to support their infrastructure and to enable customers’ requests to be fulfilled on the same day, aiming to encourage them to use the services and reduce the dependency on cash.

In March, Egypt has implemented a ban on transfer fees was implemented alongside a number of other measures aiming to reduce crowding at banks and the use of cash.

The central bank also raised the daily transaction limits on credit cards and cancelled fees and commissions applied at points of sale (POS) and on withdrawals from ATMs for six months.

It instructed that proceeds on clients’ debts during the six-month suspension period would be set according to the remainder of the facility, not the total value. It also told banks not to ask clients to repay the suspended proceeds, with the first instalment to be collected after the suspension period ends.