TITLE: Lebanon's Central Bank Establishes Fee Structure for Banking Card Issuance and Acquiring Services
BODY:
On June 10, 1999, Banque Du Liban (BDL) issued Circular 983 establishing fee arrangements for banking card issuance and acquiring services provided by banks and financial institutions operating in Lebanon.
The circular sets out a tiered fee structure based on service type. For card issuance and acquiring services combined, banks must remit Lebanese Pound (LBP) 3,000,000,000 to a designated account (LB65 0999 0000 0001 0013 2489 9001). For card issuance services alone, the fee is LBP 1,000,000,000, payable to account LB31 0999 0000 0001 0013 2490 0001. Banks issuing cards directly to customers through other financial institutions or intermediaries remain responsible for remitting these fees.
The circular requires that BDL's Legal Affairs Department direct banks to establish dedicated accounts for card issuance and acquiring services. These accounts must be held at BDL and maintained in Lebanese Pounds. The circular specifies that a portion of collected fees—equivalent to 15 percent of total revenue from card issuance and acquiring services—will be allocated to a dedicated fund. As of June 25, 2026, the total allocation for these services is LBP 22,500,000,000, comprising LBP 7,500,000,000 for card issuance services and LBP 15,000,000,000 for combined issuance and acquiring services.
The circular applies to all banks and financial institutions licensed to provide payment card services in Lebanon and establishes mandatory compliance requirements for fee remittance and account management procedures.