The National Bank of Egypt and Banque Misr began capping foreign currency withdrawals for travelers at USD 500 yesterday, following verbal instructions from the Central Bank of Egypt last Thursday. The two institutions informed their respective branch networks of the cap order, which cut the previous limit of USD 1,000 by half, according to officials from both banks. The order appears to be restricted to these two state-owned institutions as officials from other banks tell Al Borsa that they have received no such order from the CBE. The move is part of a series of limits on pre-travel withdrawals and the use of credit and debit cards abroad imposed by the banking sector to stem the outflow of FX. Al Mal had compiled a table of the limits and restrictions imposed by different banks in Egypt last Wednesday.