Bank of Algeria Encourages The Parallel Market of Hard Currency Exchange

Actions that were initiated by the Bank of Algeria about the need to declare any amount that exceeds 1000 Euro when leaving Algeria, raises questions about the significance of this procedure, its purpose and feasibility, turning it to a sarcastic subject for Algerians across the social networks, and even in coffee shops and neighbourhoods, as they wondered about “how a banking authority in the country can force the Algerians to resort to the hard currency parallel market and exchange spaces?”

Controversy among Algerians concerning the conduct of the Bank of Algeria is based on the only “humiliating” tourist grant that is permitted for citizens of Algeria during the whole year, as the Bank of Algeria comes today to impose declaring any amount that exceeds a thousand euros.

Algerians did not find the answers and explanations to one question about how the bank, which only allows them to exchange 154 thousand dinars, the equivalent of 125 euros per year, forces them today to declare any amount that exceeds 1000 Euros, especially since it knows that any banking institution did not give them this money, and that the exchange process is made in the parallel market.

In this context an Algerian citizens said on his Facebook page; “The largest banking institution in the country is forcing us to resort to the parallel market”, and another one added; “They are humiliating us by 120 Euros and ask us to declare the parellel markets’ money”.

Another Facebooker said; “Commerce Minister made serious statements about inflating the import bills with hard currency that reached billions of dollars, and no one moved to stop this, and now they speak about 1000 Euros. Take away the grant of tourism then control us while we leave Algeria”.