Opening a bank account in Tunisia

Julien - no it's not difficult to open a bank account here.  Do you want an ordinary Dinar account or a foreign currency account?  To open a dinar account you just need your passport and your carte de sejour or visa.  For a foreign currency account you will need your passport.  I have both accounts here as dinar cannot be transferred out of Tunisia.  However, if you deposit foreign currency you can take up to the amount you deposit in foreign currency when you leave

Thank you for this info Tunisiandolly!

hi i have opened a bank account in Tunisia..but the first one i tried refused me out right, the reason given.. did not have residency...infact i would go as far as to say i was treated very rudely and promptly dismissed..the second bank could not have been more helpful

hi , this is too easy here , i advise you to have an account in Biat , they make it more easy for you

Good to know SandyRose53 which Bank were you able to open an account without residency card? And what was required to open account?

I am moving to Sousse in three weeks and marrying next month. I am curious about opening a bank account in Tunisia and more specifically, whether it is possible to transfer money back to the United States. I know that it is impossible for my fiance to send money, but I will need to make payments to my university and provide assistance to my parents. After we are married, will I be able to transfer money back to the United States? I would just like to know what to expect when I move. Thank you!

Hi disha   
you can transfer only foreign currency if u have the carte de sejour.

So I can exchange dinar for USD and send it to my parents?

Absolutely, u can send it through money gram or westerm union.

how do you access money gram or Weston union while in Tunisia?

There are locations for both located all over especially in banks or Tunisian Post.

Hi Julien,
As soon as you arrive at the airport declare your money at the custom. The will give you a document and with that you can open a euro account at any bank. If you transfer money from abroad to that account you can declare it at the national bank. This is needed in case you want to buy land or property.
Loans are possible to 90% of the amount if you have a residence card.
Good luck
Jan

Hello,everyone. Please how can someone coming from algeria to Tunisia send money out of the country within days? is a bank account necessarily required to be opened? can he just go direct into a WU store and send?  open to all suggestions. would really appreciate all.thank you

coolberry wrote:

Hello,everyone. Please how can someone coming from algeria to Tunisia send money out of the country within days? is a bank account necessarily required to be opened? can he just go direct into a WU store and send?  open to all suggestions. would really appreciate all.thank you

If you are talking about sending money out of Tunisia it can't be done.  The TND is a closed currency and can't be sent via bank account/Western Union or any other way.  It is even illegal to take it out of the country.

what about a foreign currency to send out?

Coolberry - you can only send foreign currency if you have a fc bank account and then it has to be a transfer to the foreign bank account.  This is very difficult to be honest and the amount of paperwork that has to be done is over my head!!  There is no other way to do it!

Hello guys,

Perhaps someone can advise me. I am British and am looking to live in Tunisia, first for a month and then to return to the UK to plan a permanent move if I enjoy my time.

I work for a Cyprus-based company and receive my salary in Euros. Due to the fluctuation of the pound sterling, my salary varies but I work off of commission and can expect anywhere from 2 to 10 thousand Euros per month.

Could you let me know if I could open a bank account that is in Euro, with which I could then receive Euros on and use it as both a savings account (without converting to the ever falling Dinar) and as a current account for daily expenses with a debit card that is accepted at super markets and all other venues?

I shall explain. In many countries, if you bring Euros, they force you to convert them to the local currency as the money arrives onto your bank account from overseas, or they issue you a debit card which gives you 1 TND per Euro instead of 2.95 (as an example) - the central bank's exchange rate and not the "black market rate".

Do Tunisian banks have an exorbitant exchange rate or are "black market" exchange rates the same as official rates? Can I withdraw Euro from my Euro bank account and then swap them on the street for dinars? Can I buy stuff online using a Tunisian debit card? (I have heard that there needs to be excessive paperwork done, is this the case for video game consoles and TVs?)

Can I open two bank accounts in parallel, one with TND and the other with Euro, and can I withdraw Euro at ATMs or any other location 24/7 or is this something I have to go to the bank for?

I will not initially be renting an apartment, but rather an AirBnb, so I will not be legible for a carte de sejour, can I open a bank account using my British address? Would I be able to change it to my Tunisian address later?

Wow, lots of questions!  First off you need a carte de sejour to open a bank account here. And it is an absolute must for a foreign ex acc.  You can only transfer eu into your acc but you can request euros when hou withdraw. There is not much different to the black market rate. The falling dinar means you get a lot of money on the eu which worksin your favour. When you withdraw the rate you get will be the rate of that day. The rate is set by the central bank. You cannot withdraw foreign currency from atm. Youcan open a dinar acc, it is not a problem.  I have 2 acc and transfer only the minimum I need. By law I must bring in fx to the value of tnd10,000 annually. This is a requirement for the carte de semour.

It is not a good idea to buy on line here. Cash is king and receiving parcels here will attract a large tax on the assessed value.  TV etc are everywhere and quite cheap. No such thing as a tunisian cc but you can use a foreign one for the larger supermarkets, airline tkts etc but your bank may charge hefty fees on the conversion.

As far as I am aware we do not have airbnb but you can rent snort term furnished apartments.

if you need more info then I will be happy to assist.

lesley