The Minister of Finance, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 4 and 5 of the restrictive measures in trade in Case of Emergency Act of 2013, upon the recommendation of the Governor of the Central Bank has issued a decree provides for the following restrictive measures among others:
1. From current accounts/sight accounts/ savings accounts/ cards
- Withdrawals may be made from branch tellers and from ATMs (using debit, prepaid or credit cards from the balance of current and sight accounts)
- Maximum withdrawal amount of €300 per day per person. Any amount not withdrawn each day will be added to the available balance of the following day.
2. Cashing of Cheques
- Cashing of Cheques is prohibited.
3. Payments to other financial institutions in Cyprus or outside Cyprus for commercial transactions upon presentation of the necessary supporting documents
- Payments for commercial transactions up to €5.000 are allowed per account. Payments for amounts greater than €5000 require the approval of the Committee established by the Central Bank.
4. Payments to other financial institutions or outside Cyprus for employee salaries
- Money transfers to other financial institutions in Cyprus and outside Cyprus are allowed, without limitation, upon presentation of the necessary supporting documents.
5. Payments or money transfers through credit, debit or prepaid cards
- Allowed for amounts up to €5.000 per person per month.
6. Other payments to other financial institutions in Cyprus or outside Cyprus
- Allowed with the approval of the Committee established by the Central Bank, upon presentation of the necessary supporting documents.
7. Early termination of fixed-term
- Termination of fixed-term deposits prior to maturity is prohibited.
- Early termination is only permitted where the total deposit amount will be used to repay a loan with the bank
8. Maturity of fixed-term deposit
- On the expiry/maturity date the greater of €5.000 or 10% of the total deposit amount may be transferred to any sight or current account or to a new notice account with the bank.
- The remaining amount must be deposited to a notice account with notice of at least one month.
9. Foreign currency restrictions
- The restrictive measures apply to all accounts, payments and money transfers regardless of the currency.
This Order is valid for a period of four days commencing from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette of the Republic. For further clarifications please do not hesitate to contact our Directors or members of staff who remain fully aligned to your business needs.