The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has instructed banks to remove maximum limits for deposits by individuals and companies at bank branches and ATMs, according to a circular released on Thursday.
The CBE also raised the cap for daily withdrawals from bank branches for both individuals and companies to EGP 150,000, up from EGP 50,000, while keeping the maximum limit for withdrawals from ATMs at EGP 20,000.
The CBE said this decision was made given that the COVID-19 crisis has receded.
In March 2020, in an effort to contain the impacts of the pandemic, the CBE set the daily limit for cash deposits and withdrawals from bank branches at EGP 10,000 for individuals and EGP 50,000 for enterprises, with the exception of withdrawals by entrepreneurs for worker disbursements.
The CBE also set a limit of EGP 5,000 for cash deposits and withdrawals from ATM machines, which it said aimed to reduce crowding, particularly during payroll and pension disbursements.
A month after, the CBE raised the daily limit for cash withdrawals from ATMs to EGP 20,000, up from EGP 5,000, and from banks to EGP 50,000, up from EGP 10,000.
On 12 August, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi appointed Sameh Abdallah, the CEO of the United Media Services Group, as the acting governor of the CBE, succeeding Tarek Amer, who resigned a day before.
Abdallah has reportedly named Hisham Ezz El-Arab, the former president of the Commercial International Bank, and former board member of SAIB Bank Mohamed Naguib as advisors to him, although the CBE has not yet made an official announcement in this regard.
