CYPRUS abolished maximum daily cash withdrawal limits from bank accounts on Friday, a year after it imposed capital controls to prevent economic meltdown and a flight of cash under the terms of a painful international bailout.
In a decree issued by the finance ministry, the €300 limit per person per day was scrapped, along with restrictions on breaking fixed-interest time deposits prior to maturity.
The decree also allowed, under conditions, individuals to open bank accounts in other credit institutions.
The finance ministry said the decision was taken because a performance-linked roadmap of stabilising the banking sector had been met.
One of the benchmarks was completing the merger of Co-Op banks, a network of small lenders which received bailout money under terms of €10 billion in international aid to Cyprus.
Individuals were also allowed to transfer up to €50,000 in funds per month without supporting documentation, and businesses €200,000, the finance ministry said.
Restrictions remain on moving money abroad. Cypriot officials have previously said they anticipate that all controls could be fully lifted by the end of 2014.
Cyprus was forced to wind down a major bank and convert large deposits in a second to recapitalise it in order to qualify for aid from the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.
– Reuters
Further reading
The Enforcement of Restrictive Measures on Transactions in case of Emergency Law of 2013 (Unofficial translation)
Cannot take cash out of the country and can not leave it in the bank in light of the new info on NPL. Damm! the mattress is getting hard (just kidding- My cash was spent on my house for which I still don’t have title deeds).
@Deanna – No, the limit on the amount of money you can take out of the country has not changed.
That’s very good news!
Have they done anything about the cash limit you can take out of the country?