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Hey guys, some midly informative info:

Murex has opened bank accounts for all their employees at Bank Audi France. the same restriction still apply for withdrawal here, but at least when they travel, they have access to their money.

For those of you that have a second passport (sorry) you can open an N26 electronic bank account with a picture of your passport and a selfie. the N26 account has a regular IBAN / Swift code based in Germany and a debit / credit card that will be delivered. the catch here is that the card can't be delivered to Lebanon, so you'll have to ask someone to bring it with them, the N26 card can be used anywhere in any currency for a 1.7% markup, or in euro with no markup.

I personally have used my N26 card whenever i travelled and many times in leb where my current card would randomly not work, unfortunatly as most of you know, Lebanese banks are a mafia and this is why we will never see N26, google or apple pay be available in Lebanon, as the politicans want us to have no choice but to finance the failure of our government through the banks.

Edit: oh yeah, N26 basic account has ZERO fees.
Draguen wroteHey guys, some midly informative info:

Murex has opened bank accounts for all their employees at Bank Audi France. the same restriction still apply for withdrawal here, but at least when they travel, they have access to their money.

For those of you that have a second passport (sorry) you can open an N26 electronic bank account with a picture of your passport and a selfie. the N26 account has a regular IBAN / Swift code based in Germany and a debit / credit card that will be delivered. the catch here is that the card can't be delivered to Lebanon, so you'll have to ask someone to bring it with them, the N26 card can be used anywhere in any currency for a 1.7% markup, or in euro with no markup.

I personally have used my N26 card whenever i travelled and many times in leb where my current card would randomly not work, unfortunatly as most of you know, Lebanese banks are a mafia and this is why we will never see N26, google or apple pay be available in Lebanon, as the politicans want us to have no choice but to finance the failure of our government through the banks.

Edit: oh yeah, N26 basic account has ZERO fees.
Regardless, if you have a valid visa, even without a second passport, you can open a bank account in France for example.
On the 29th November in the morning , the USD to LBP rate was 2100. At 9pm it was 1600, due to USD being injected in the black / exhange market ( people with previous USD home savings sold it to exchangers , ....). I got 12,000 USD at a rate of 1600 ( 29th of Nov. @ 10am exactly) - paid 12,000× 1600 = 19,200,000 LBP.

It's a matter of Demand & Supply rules in the black market , as supply decrease & demand increase the USD to LBP rate will increase. I think the formation of a new cabinet will alter the negative atmosphere & restabilize the exhange rate to the official BDL official exchange rate of 1507.5

The problem in this scandal that some services oriented & commercial companies with old stock are riding the wave by " disseminating a sniping maneuvers" to increase illegally their profit margins.
It looks like we might have a " حكومة وحده وطنية " whatever that means soon, but I doubt it will have any effect on the exchange rate since the trust in the banking system is gone.
Draguen wrote
I personally have used my N26 card whenever i travelled and many times in leb where my current card would randomly not work

...

Edit: oh yeah, N26 basic account has ZERO fees.
I have a similar card in multiple currencies, I tried to withdraw from a Lebanese ATM and it took a 3.75% fee which I think is standard for all foreign cards on Lebanese ATMs.

What happened when you used yours?
rolf wrote
Draguen wrote
I personally have used my N26 card whenever i travelled and many times in leb where my current card would randomly not work

...

Edit: oh yeah, N26 basic account has ZERO fees.
I have a similar card in multiple currencies, I tried to withdraw from a Lebanese ATM and it took a 3.75% fee which I think is standard for all foreign cards on Lebanese ATMs.

What happened when you used yours?

I have a card from https://www.gocashcards.com/

Also, it is a multiple currencies card. My friend sent it to me and sometimes he fills it with some $. I used it with SGBL Bank and they never took any fees. There is a card fee every time I use it with the ATM which is 3$ only so I think It depends on the bank you are trying to withdraw from and the card itself.

Now I can't use it because there is no $ in the ATMs and I think they are not accepting the foreign cards to withdraw in $.
Thanks! I had tried with Bank Byblos.
Maybe it varies. Maybe your card is issued in UAE and is subjected to different conditions.
sero wrote
NuclearVision wroteDude the banks are closing at 12pm because they have no usd left, where will they get your usd from?
When you wire transfer money from abroad to Lebanon, doesn't the bank send cash to the Lebanese bank at some date?
Of course not, you will have the value of the money in your account, but no bank in the world has all the money as banknotes(paper money).. the issue now is the banknotes, less and less banknotes are available..

which bring to mind, Why do people need that much usd banknotes?

IMO 2 major scenarios:
-to make profit by selling $
-to have some cash in case of banks collapse
MAS wrote
sero wrote
NuclearVision wroteDude the banks are closing at 12pm because they have no usd left, where will they get your usd from?
When you wire transfer money from abroad to Lebanon, doesn't the bank send cash to the Lebanese bank at some date?
Of course not, you will have the value of the money in your account, but no bank in the world has all the money as banknotes(paper money).. the issue now is the banknotes, less and less banknotes are available..

which bring to mind, Why do people need that much usd banknotes?

IMO 2 major scenarios:
-to make profit by selling $
-to have some cash in case of banks collapse
Illegale activities as well such as money laundry and drugs etc....

French residents for instance, in France, are allowed to pay in cash up to EUR 1000 per day only. For larger transactions, the debit/credit card is a must.
Kareem wrote
TheIlluminative wroteI booked my flight to Cyprus this Saturday to open a bank account there and will let you know how it works. Will Try to bring $10,000 with me
That's great to know, I'm opening next week in Paris.I will see how it goes. Keep us updated.

Out of curiosity, you are going with a schengen visa ?
what are the papers required to open an account in france ? and are you going on a tourist visa ?
nosense wrote
Kareem wrote
TheIlluminative wroteI booked my flight to Cyprus this Saturday to open a bank account there and will let you know how it works. Will Try to bring $10,000 with me
That's great to know, I'm opening next week in Paris.I will see how it goes. Keep us updated.

Out of curiosity, you are going with a schengen visa ?
what are the papers required to open an account in France? and are you going on a tourist visa ?
probably my answer isn't related to the paper needed, but regarding the experience of my friend with French nationality who has a bank account in france (because i was asking him if within this situation his account in france gives him any privilege):

-he cannot transfer money from external account to france account easily, especially if you are not the owner of the external account, for example if you are a freelance and your customer wants to pay you to france account, it would requires papers to prove the source of the money, and the contract between you 2, and a lot of questions.. all of this to prevent money laundering
Even before all this, when his parents where transferring 1000$, the bank was calling him on each transfer to know the source, and why he needs the money, and where he is getting the money from..

-he cannot deposit cash amount easily as well, above 4k, they will also ask you load of questions..

-if your money are in lebanese banks, it is near impossible to transfer them abroad now..
MAS wrote
nosense wrote
Kareem wrote
That's great to know, I'm opening next week in Paris.I will see how it goes. Keep us updated.

Out of curiosity, you are going with a schengen visa ?
what are the papers required to open an account in France? and are you going on a tourist visa ?
probably my answer isn't related to the paper needed, but regarding the experience of my friend with French nationality who has a bank account in france (because i was asking him if within this situation his account in france gives him any privilege):

-he cannot transfer money from external account to france account easily, especially if you are not the owner of the external account, for example if you are a freelance and your customer wants to pay you to france account, it would requires papers to prove the source of the money, and the contract between you 2, and a lot of questions.. all of this to prevent money laundering
Even before all this, when his parents where transferring 1000$, the bank was calling him on each transfer to know the source, and why he needs the money, and where he is getting the money from..

-he cannot deposit cash amount easily as well, above 4k, they will also ask you load of questions..

-if your money are in lebanese banks, it is near impossible to transfer them abroad now..
yea that's why I'm asking, I know france banking system is tight and would not solve our problems.

I get paid from abroad and my main concern now is to not send any more money to lebanon, maybe cyprus like someone mentioned here
The "last mile" of transferring cash into and out of Lebanon will be challenging for sure.

Although people come and go to Europe all the time, you have to find people who are worthy of trust and who are willing to take this responsibility.

An additional cost of doing business in Lebanon when we least need it.
rolf wroteThe "last mile" of transferring cash into and out of Lebanon will be challenging for sure.

Although people come and go to Europe all the time, you have to find people who are worthy of trust and who are willing to take this responsibility.

An additional cost of doing business in Lebanon when we least need it.
I'm willing to travel to and from europe and anywhere you guys want me to go in exchange of paying my in and out tickets and related bills (food, commute etc..) and i will be responsible to handle this task. Imagine if this job was real :/

Forgot to add only during the weekends :D
However there is a need, and an opportunity to figure something out, maybe using bitcoins, I can see this working in theory.
potato wrote
rolf wroteThe "last mile" of transferring cash into and out of Lebanon will be challenging for sure.

Although people come and go to Europe all the time, you have to find people who are worthy of trust and who are willing to take this responsibility.

An additional cost of doing business in Lebanon when we least need it.
I'm willing to travel to and from europe and anywhere you guys want me to go in exchange of paying my in and out tickets and related bills (food, commute etc..) and i will be responsible to handle this task. Imagine if this job was real :/

Forgot to add only during the weekends

Okay, so let's say

1. "customers": Lebanese who opened a bank account outside the country to keep their earned cash away from Lebanese banks. Customers will use their money + online banking or card to buy bitcoins online
2. "mules" Mules will just take a ticket to Cyprus (for example) and withdraw Euros (or USD if possible) from an external account which belongs to the "merchants".
3. "merchants" Merchants will buy bitcoins from "customers" inside Lebanon and they will buy them against USD or LBP cash at the de-facto rate

From the customer point of view: Buy bitcoins, then sell them against USD cash in Lebanon. Get access to your USD without touching the Lebanese banks.

From the merchant point of view: Buy bitcoins on the online market, then sell them in Lebanon for a profit.

From the mule point of view: Take a trip, and withdraw from the merchant's account, and bring him cash so he can buy bitcoins. Get a free trip to cyprus or whatever, and possibly a commission.

Maybe I am overthinking this - the merchant can do the "mule trip" himself.

Why am I going through bitcoins? Well, the other alternative: do you want to give your debit card to some stranger and give them the PIN code, and hope they don't rob you? (otherwise you what, break their legs?). Or maybe do you want to go and carry a big amount of cash for someone you don't know - and carry this responsibility - what if the money gets confiscated at the airport?
rolf wrote
potato wrote
rolf wroteThe "last mile" of transferring cash into and out of Lebanon will be challenging for sure.

Although people come and go to Europe all the time, you have to find people who are worthy of trust and who are willing to take this responsibility.

An additional cost of doing business in Lebanon when we least need it.
I'm willing to travel to and from europe and anywhere you guys want me to go in exchange of paying my in and out tickets and related bills (food, commute etc..) and i will be responsible to handle this task. Imagine if this job was real :/

Forgot to add only during the weekends

Okay, so let's say

1. "customers": Lebanese who opened a bank account outside the country to keep their earned cash away from Lebanese banks. Customers will use their money + online banking or card to buy bitcoins online
2. "mules" Mules will just take a ticket to Cyprus (for example) and withdraw Euros (or USD if possible) from an external account which belongs to the "merchants".
3. "merchants" Merchants will buy bitcoins from "customers" inside Lebanon and they will buy them against USD or LBP cash at the de-facto rate
you will lose around 10% in fees
Yes. Got a better idea?
I would prefer paying 10-20% in fees to people who are trying to offer an alternative as opposed to 25% or more to Lebanese banks and that is if they accept to give you your money.
I watched on the news around an hour ago that the central bank issued to all banks to pay interests in 50% LBP and 50% in the foreign currency of the account. Couldn't find an online source yet but I watched it on MTV.
nosense wrote
Kareem wrote
TheIlluminative wroteI booked my flight to Cyprus this Saturday to open a bank account there and will let you know how it works. Will Try to bring $10,000 with me
That's great to know, I'm opening next week in Paris.I will see how it goes. Keep us updated.

Out of curiosity, you are going with a schengen visa ?
what are the papers required to open an account in france ? and are you going on a tourist visa ?
Believe it or not, I still can't give you the right answer. I contacted the bank ( HSBC Paris ) and they said they only need a passport which as form of ID and a bank statement in Lebanon including a proof of residency abroad.

As far as I understood, it's quite straightforward. I'm going next week to see how it goes.