Following the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) directive, local banks have suspended the use of debit cards outside of Egypt and restricted credit card usage abroad to transactions valued at $250 per month. Since October 9 2023, the available payment methods for transactions outside of Egypt were restricted to credit cards and cards associated with foreign currency accounts. The CBE said that this decision was prompted by instances where credit card holders were making foreign transaction withdrawals even when they were not abroad. According to local publications, many small businesses in Egypt heavily depend on debit cards for settling bills related to social media advertising accounts and software subscriptions. This reliance on debit cards is primarily because they are more prevalent in Egypt, constituting 41% of all bank cards, whereas credit cards are less common, with a penetration rate of 8.6%.

Source: The North Africa Journal October 30, 2023 05:15 UTC