Khartoum — The Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) issued a circular to commercial banks yesterday outlining controls and procedures for issuing and accepting international bank and credit cards such as Visa, Mastercard and others. It has also set daily and weekly withdrawal limits.
The CBoS leaflet was distributed yesterday after the government devalued the Sudanese Pound (SDG) in an attempt to end the existence of the parallel currency market, and encourage direct dealing with banks. It grants Sudanese banks access to the licenses of global payment technology companies, subject to CBoS approval.
The licenses of payment technology companies include issuing debit cards to individuals, companies, paid cards to individuals, companies, gifts, credit cards for individuals and companies, as well as accepting cards at ATMs, e-points of sale and e-commerce sites. The publication pointed out that the customer cards may be fed through transfer from outside Sudan or by cash deposits for foreign currencies.
The CBoS has set a daily withdrawal ceiling of $5,000 and weekly withdrawals should not exceed $25,000, while card payments should not exceed $500.
Mohamed El Bassi, deputy governor of the CBoS, said that “the policy of unifying the exchange rate has met with unprecedented success,” pointing out that it is in the interests of the CBoS to solving all problems and obstacles that hinder the continued flow of foreign funds into banks.
During an address to the press conference to announce special incentives for expatriates and immigrants in Khartoum yesterday, El Bassani stressed the support of banks in the Gulf countries for the policy of liberalising the exchange rate by providing facilities, the most important of which is free transfer, asking the public to consider the national interest over personal interest and resist the temptation to trade with parallel market brokers.
Minister of Finance Jibril Ibrahim acknowledged that there are problems facing bank transfers because Sudan has been prevented from dealing with international and regional institutions for a long time.
Ibrahim pointed out that the announcement of the policy of unifying the exchange rate came to remove chronic distortions in the Sudanese economy, revealing the existence of a deficit in the general budget and the continuation of work on its financing and problems in the balance of payments and trade balance to outweigh imports over exports, pointing out that the decision to unify the exchange rate has found acceptance and success so far and opened the door to foreign transactions and various support of loans and grants.
