Banque Misr and NBE slash FX markup fees in half: Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt are lowering their FX markup fees to 5% from 10% and raising their FX credit card limits by 50%, Banque Misr and Federation of Egyptian Banks Chairman Mohamed El Etreby told CNBC Arabia. The new limits bring Banque Misr’s spending cap outside Egypt on its highest category of cards to the FX equivalent of EGP 300k (pdf) and the NBE’s to the FX equivalent of EGP 240k.

CIB was the first to make the move: The Commercial International Bank announced the day before that it would be lowering its FX markup fees and increasing spending limits, with the bank’s FX fee halving to 5% and monthly purchases abroad capped at the equivalent of EGP 100k-300k, up from EGP 75k-200k, depending on the type of card.

Back to normalcy? These changes may spell the beginning of a return to normalcy for the banking sector, which has been using FX restrictions to manage the country’s currency crisis since October 2022 by conserving hard currency assets. Higher spending limits and lower commission fees may also help water down rumors of a renewed USD shortage that emerged as the EGP slid in value against the greenback following the Eid Al Adha break.

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