Region

Jurisdiction

Regulator

2011-08-21

Requirement for Daily Holding of Foreign Currency and Limit on Daily Withdrawal

The Central Bank of Seychelles mandates daily physical holdings of US dollars, euros, and British pounds for all commercial banks, establishing higher thresholds for larger institutions and lower ones for smaller ones. It sets a minimum daily withdrawal and purchase limit of SCR50,000 per customer without prior notice, permitting banks to require three working days' advance warning for larger transactions while retaining discretionary approval. The circular grants a three-day grace period to restore holding levels after withdrawals and prohibits refusing foreign currency transactions unless clients consistently exceed limits over a week, requiring clear client communication of these policies.

Seychelles

Central Bank of Seychelles

# CENTRAL BANK OF SEYCHELLES

P. O. Box 701 Victoria, Seychelles

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**Telephone:** [+248] 4282 000  
**Fax:** [+248] 4323 665  
**E-mail:** [enquiries@cbs.sc](mailto:enquiries@cbs.sc)

**Ref.:** FSS/GEN/1  
**Date:** August 2, 2011

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To all Banks,

## Requirement for daily holding of foreign currency and limit on daily withdrawal per customer

Central Bank hereby requires banks to comply with the following daily requirement for holding of foreign currency notes and withdrawal limit in the three main foreign currencies.

In view that larger banks, namely Nouvobang (NVB), Mauritius Commercial Bank Seychelles (MCB) and Barclays Bank Seychelles (BBS) carry out more transactions than smaller banks, being Seychelles Savings Bank (SSB), Bank of Baroda (BOB) and Habib Bank (HBL), the larger banks are subject to higher physical notes holding requirement as shown below:

| Physical notes holding requirement |          |
|------------------------------------|----------|
| **NVB, MCB, BBS**                  | **SSB, BOB, HBL** |
| $70,000                            | $20,000  |
| €50,000                            | €10,000  |
| £20,000                            | £5,000   |

A maximum daily limit equivalent to at least SCR50,000 per customer for purchase of foreign currency and withdrawals from foreign currency accounts needs to be accommodated by banks without requiring prior notification from clients. Nonetheless, in order to provide banks with a reasonable amount of time to accommodate foreign currency requests which exceeds the equivalent of SCR50,000, banks may require that clients provide prior notice of at least three working days. It remains at the bank’s discretion should you wish to entertain a larger daily transaction per customer than the above-prescribed amount.

Should withdrawals affect the bank’s daily holding requirements of foreign currency notes, Central Bank will allow a grace period of three working days to re-establish these to the required levels.

Banks should not refuse purchase of foreign currency by clients or foreign currency withdrawals by clients holding foreign currency accounts unless a particular client is consistently making large withdrawals over a one week period.

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Please ensure that the limit on the daily withdrawal and policy of prior notice for withdrawals and purchase exceeding the equivalent of SCR50,000 in foreign currency are clearly communicated to clients.

We trust in your co-operation for adherence to this circular.

**P. Laporte**  
Governor