Exchanging and Banking

As salaamu alaikum

I thought some would be interested in knowing any kind of banking information. In Shihr, we have two ATM's. CAC Bank has an ATM located in front of the bank. The ATM is 24hr. The bank is open after Maghrib,which masha Allah is nice because you will not find the other bank open after Maghrib. The other ATM is in front of Tadahamon bank and this one is 24hr as well. Since we often have problem with power outages here, Tadahamon has a generator that automatically comes on when the electric goes out so you don't have to worry about going all the way down to the ATM and it is out because of electric. However, the machine is some times out of order (not often).

When we first arrived, there was an ATM machine on Barrad Siddah. This machine was inside of a Baqalah and this area is a known hang out spot for men. They don't bother you (atleast I have never been assaulted) but who wants to be around a bunch of gawking men, especially after making a monetary transaction. So, when Tadahamon opened their ATM it was really nice.

This ATM was also a big mushkilla (problem) because it would not have money or be working and this was quite often. You would have to keep checking back... day after day after day. The only alternative was to go to Mukallah (which is 45 minutes away) and maybe you just barely had money to get to the ATM machine.

The other option was to go to Omgy Money Exchange. This is a big money exchange (Sarafah or Masraf) in this area. They have two here in Shihr and a few in Mukallah. Khuraimi is another big masraf. I am sure these two (Omgy and Khuraimi) are big tribes here. Anyways, Omgy used to have a card swipe (ATM) but I don't know how their "system" of closing out books works. I once took money out and it took them almost a year to take the money out of my bank account.

The money exchanges allow you to send and receive money from other people in Yemen. It works like Western Union or Money Gram (they have those too). They exchange foreign bills for you and other than that, I am not really sure what it is they do. Whatever it is, masha Allah tabarak Allah, they must be really successful because for a small village like Shihr they have quite a few money exchanges and they just built a really fabulous (masha Allah) one in the Souk (will post pics insha Allah).

There are a few banks in Shihr - few. They have a Tadahamon, CAC and Yemeni International Bank. However, in Mukallah they have quite a few banks on Shariah Banuk (Bank Street). There are quite a few banks there.

You can open an account for a small fee, with an identification card and with $50 in your account (some may not require, some may require more). You can open a savings account or a current account. Some banks offer interest free banking and interest free loans, some also offer online banking. I think the majority offer ATM cards.

CAC Bank - http://www.cacbank.com.ye/Brancheseng.aspx

Saba Islamic Bank (Bank Islami by the locals in Mukallah)- http://www.sababank.com/

Tadhamon - (Also called bank Islami in Shihr) http://www.tiib.com/eng/

International Bank of Yemen - http://www.ibyemen.com/en/services.php

Arab Bank - http://www.arabbank.com/en/yemen.aspx

These are the main banks here although there are others in Mukallah on Shariah Banuk.

Saba Islami offers private banking for women. Banking for woman is on the second floor with the men banking on the first floor. There is no branch in Shihr. You must go to Mukallah. However, woman can open accounts with (joint) or without (personal) their husband.