Banks move to facilitate procedures following instructions from the Governor of the Bank of Algeria:
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Public and private banks, starting Tuesday, began implementing a series of urgent measures to facilitate the issuance of international payment cards, in implementation of the directives of the Governor of the Bank of Algeria, Mohamed Lamine Labou, aimed at enabling citizens wishing to benefit from the exchange right for traveling abroad to obtain their cards as soon as possible.
Banking sources revealed to Al-Shorouk that since the first hours of Tuesday, most of the banking agencies have entered a state of mobilization, as instructions were directed to the commercial and operations departments to give absolute priority to processing international payment card files, most notably the Visa and MasterCard cards, while accelerating all stages of studying the files and reducing their issuance deadlines to the lowest possible level.
Branches are recruiting until Saturday, with absolute priority for “Visa” and “MasterCard” cards.
According to the same sources, banks are working to gradually reduce the processing time for applications, with the aim that it will settle in the future within seven days only for files that meet all conditions, after this process took up to 45 days in some banking institutions.
In this context, some banks began to announce shorter deadlines, as the Algerian Popular Credit confirmed that “Visa” and “MasterCard” cards will be delivered within a maximum period of 21 days from the date of acceptance of the application, in a step that reflects the banks’ involvement in embodying the directives of the Bank of Algeria aimed at gradually reducing the deadlines.
On the other hand, some banks were able to reduce the deadlines further, as Al-Shorouk sources confirmed that banks, including Gulf Bank Algeria, succeeded in preparing a number of international payment cards and delivering them to customers within just two days, for files that meet all conditions, which reflects the variation in issuance deadlines between banks according to the readiness of each institution and its internal organization, waiting for this speed to be generalized to the various banking networks.
The sources confirmed that a number of banks have begun adopting new organizational arrangements, including allocating agents to exclusively receive international card files, redistributing tasks within agencies to ensure speedy examination of applications, as well as ensuring work on Saturdays in various branches to reduce pressure and accommodate the increasing number of citizens wishing to obtain these cards.
On the practical side, the sources explained that benefiting from the card does not require depositing large amounts in hard currency after the facilities provided by most banks, as it is sufficient to open the account with the minimum specified by the bank, with the possibility of depositing only 50 euros in the account in foreign currency, so that this value becomes usable, including withdrawing it from ATMs abroad and using it in electronic payment operations in accordance with the applicable rules, while also benefiting from the value of 750 euros allocated for the travel grant.
As for the dinar account linked to the card, the sources explained that most banks require that an amount of approximately 10,000 dinars be deposited upon opening the account only, within the framework of the administrative procedures approved by them, before completing the remaining stages of issuing the card.
These measures come after the meeting held on Monday by the Governor of the Bank of Algeria, Mohamed Lamine Labou, with bank officials, where he stressed the need to remove administrative obstacles that citizens may face, and to ensure the facilitation and acceleration of the issuance of international payment cards, allowing for the actual implementation of the new travel grant system.
The Bank of Algeria had issued a new instruction regulating the benefit of the entitlement to disbursement allocated for travel abroad via international payment cards or cards designated for this purpose, in implementation of the instructions of the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who ordered that the travel grant estimated at 750 euros be disbursed exclusively via bank cards, instead of delivering it in cash.
This measure aims to enhance transparency in the use of hard currency, and ensure that the travel grant reaches its beneficiaries, while reducing the violations that were previously recorded when disbursing it in cash, which prompted the banking sector to accelerate the pace of preparation for this stage, by mobilizing its human and organizational resources and ensuring that cards are issued as quickly as possible, in preparation for the expected demand from citizens during the coming period.
