Price Reductions For “Visa” Cards And Online Purchasing Is Allowed!
Public and private banks in Algeria have initiated new procedures in recent hours to facilitate citizens’ access to the travel foreign exchange allowance. This involves providing clarifications regarding the expansion of international bank card services, reducing the costs of some, and allowing the use of foreign currency balances for payments and online purchases from foreign websites, while clarifying that opening an international bank card is not possible for non-workers.
These measures come at a time when owning an international payment card has become an essential means to benefit from the exchange allowance, after new regulations approved the possibility of placing the exchange allowance amount at the beneficiary’s disposal via an international payment card, without necessarily requiring them to acquire a new card if they already own an eligible and valid international card.
In this context, the Local Development Bank (BDL) launched a promotional offer including a 50% discount on international cards, a step that would reduce the cost of obtaining these cards for customers wishing to travel or benefit from international payment services.
Previously published tariffs by the bank show that the annual subscription for the Visa Classic card was estimated at 2000 dinars, compared to 5000 dinars for the Visa Gold card, while the cost of the “Mastercard Titanium” card reached 8000 dinars, and the “Mastercard Platinum” card reached 14000 dinars.
This makes the new discounts significant for those wishing to acquire an international card, especially for families and travelers who need an accepted payment method outside Algeria.
The function of these cards is not limited to withdrawing funds or paying bills during travel, as foreign currency balances can be used abroad, and some cards allow online purchasing from foreign websites, which expands their uses to include hotel bookings, flight tickets, travel-related services, and other permitted purchases.
Banks also clarified that owning a valid international card eliminates the need to request a new card in some cases, as the exchange allowance can be loaded onto the existing card, which shortens the procedures for the customer and enables them to benefit from their right without going through all the stages of requesting a new card again.
In the same context, the National Bank of Algeria (BNA) confirmed in a new clarification to its customers via its official “Facebook” page yesterday the possibility of using foreign currency amounts deposited in the account within the framework of the exchange allowance to cover expenses abroad, while allowing online purchases related to the purpose of traveling abroad, reflecting a trend towards expanding the scope of international card usage and not limiting them to traditional withdrawal and payment operations.
“BNP Paribas El Djazaïr” has also joined these services by confirming the possibility of using foreign currency balances from the tourist allowance for online acquisition from abroad. This follows its promotion of Visa cards aimed at customers with accounts in dinars and foreign currencies, with three categories: Classic, Gold, and Platinum.
According to the data provided by the bank, annual subscriptions are 4500 dinars for the Classic card, 8000 dinars for the Gold, and 20000 dinars for the Platinum, excluding fees and taxes.
These cards require owning a dinar account and another in euros, with minimum balances that differ according to the category. The Classic card holder needs 25000 dinars and 500 euros, while the limits rise to 75000 dinars and 2500 euros for the Gold card, and 1000000 dinars and 7000 euros for the Platinum card. In contrast, other banks provide international cards with different categories and conditions, which opens multiple options for the customer according to their income, needs, and the type of operations they wish to perform inside and outside Algeria.
Algerian banks are moving, through these measures, towards making the international card an integrated tool for the traveler, combining the benefit of the exchange allowance, payment and withdrawal abroad, and electronic purchasing.
This is especially relevant since the right is granted only once during the calendar year, with the possibility of recovering it in specific cases, including travel cancellation or returning before seven days have passed, provided the amount is returned within the legal deadlines, although the customer is still waiting for the relaxation of conditions and reduction of deadlines.
Thus, competition between banks is shifting from merely providing an international card to offering more flexible and less costly services, at a time when Algerians’ reliance on electronic payment methods during travel and on foreign websites and platforms is increasing.
