Foreign-currency account for an Algerian auto-entrepreneur: papers, rules and what to ask the bank

An auto-entrepreneur who invoices foreign clients opens a professional non-merchant foreign-currency account, governed by Bank of Algeria Instruction 06-2021. Since the January 2024 note, a commercial-register entry is no longer required: on paper, the auto-entrepreneur card, an ID and a proof of residence are enough. What we do not know yet is what each bank actually asks for, what it charges and how long it takes.

The account, and what the Bank of Algeria says about it

Instruction 06-2021 of 29 June 2021 separates the merchant foreign-currency account from the professional non-merchant one, which is the account of a service provider who is not a trader. Article 4 gives the holder the right to 100% of their export proceeds, goods and services alike.

That right comes with a stated purpose. In its clarification of 18 July 2021 the Bank of Algeria says the funds finance the activity. For companies it describes a split of 80% towards imports of goods and services the business needs and 20% towards an exporter account for promotion, and it writes that electronic payments and transfers are free to use while cash withdrawals must stay a small supplement. Nothing in that text says whether the 80/20 split binds a lone freelancer. That is a question for the bank.

The papers

Bank of Algeria note 01/DGCRB/2024 (30 January 2024) removed the commercial-register requirement for an auto-entrepreneur opening a business bank account. According to the press, ANAE turns that into a list of three documents: a copy of the auto-entrepreneur card, a copy of an ID, and a proof of residence. ANAE also published note 133/2024 in October 2024: the statistical identification number (NIS) is required neither to operate nor to open a bank account.

We have not read ANAE’s own notice (only TSA’s report of it) or the bank note on the Bank of Algeria’s own site (only a third-party copy).

Where other guides go wrong

Many guides still in circulation ask for a commercial-register extract or the NIS. They predate 2024. The opposite mistake is to suggest the three-document list applies in every branch. A branch may ask for a specimen signature or its own form, and if it asks for something outside the list, ask which text it relies on.

What to check before you open

You also need the repatriation deadline for export proceeds. Summaries of the instruction say that proceeds not domiciled with the bank, or brought back late, are converted into dinars, and that closing the account converts the balance. We could not open the instruction itself to confirm. Opening fees, charges for receiving a transfer and for converting to dinars, and processing times vary by bank. We have no verified figure for any of them.

Invoicing, getting paid, declaring

Put your account details and the invoice reference on every invoice, and keep the contract or order. Money received is still turnover: it counts for IFU at 0.5% and for CASNOS. Whether IFU applies to a service exported and paid in foreign currency is not answered by any text we read, as the auto-entrepreneur tax guide explains.

Micro-importers face stricter rules: the account must be opened with the Banque extérieure d’Algérie and funded from your own foreign currency. The details are in the article on micro-importation.