Guide 12 · valid as of 22 October 2026 · getsahla.com
From Algeria, Grey opens a euro account and a pound sterling account, which help when a European client wants to pay by bank transfer. But a balance left on Grey counts as assets held abroad, which is banned, and the stablecoins the app offers are crypto-assets, which are illegal in Algeria. Grey can only be a pass-through, and its own pages contradict each other on how to get the money home.
Take Sofiane, a video editor in Béjaïa. His Paris client will only pay by SEPA transfer. He opens a Grey account to receive €800. Now he has to get those euros to Algeria, and that’s where it gets complicated.
What Grey offers users in Algeria (22 October 2026)
| Service | What Grey says |
|---|---|
| Euro account (IBAN) and pound sterling account | Yes |
| Dollar account | No, not for Algeria |
| Virtual dollar card for online payments | Yes, $5 to create |
| Fee to receive (SEPA) | 0.8% (€2 minimum, €10 maximum) |
| Conversion fee | 1%, capped at €6 ($6 in a footnote on the same page) |
| Dinar withdrawal to an Algerian bank | Contradictory: “yes” on Grey’s Algeria page and in an article updated 16 October 2026 ($2.50 per withdrawal, up to DZD 388,000 per transfer, up to five working days); “no” on two pages first published 14 April and updated on 6 August and 1 September 2026 |
| Sending euros to your foreign currency account in Algeria | Not described anywhere by Grey |
| Stablecoins (USDT, USDC) | Offered by Grey; illegal for an Algerian resident |
Before you start, ask Grey’s support in writing what your account can do.
The methods
Receive on Grey and convert to dinars at Grey
If your Grey account offers to convert euros to dinars and send them to your bank, the money does end up in Algeria. But the conversion happens at Grey, not at an approved Algerian bank: you lose your foreign currency, and no text we’ve read says whether this complies with exchange rules. It isn’t an official route, and the risk is yours.
If you do it anyway:
Receive on Grey and send the euros to your foreign currency account
This is the only way to keep your foreign currency, but Grey doesn’t describe this option for Algeria. If it shows up in your app, it’s still a detour: your client pays Grey, not your bank. Nobody has settled when that payment counts as “made” (guide 9). Send the euros on the same day.
Keeping euros on Grey for online shopping
This is the use Grey promotes: hold euros and pay with the virtual card. For a resident, a balance abroad built from work done in Algeria is banned (Regulation 07-01, art. 8Règlement 07-01 du 3 février 2007 relatif aux règles applicables aux transactions courantes avec l'étranger et aux comptes devises (version d'origine), p. 2), and not bringing your earnings home is an exchange-control offence (Ordinance 96-22, art. 1Ordonnance 03-01 modifiant l'ordonnance 96-22 (JO n° 12 de 2003), p. 14; guide 17). Pay for your tools with the card on your Algerian foreign currency account instead (guide 10).
Converting to stablecoins (USDT, USDC)
Grey offers to convert your euros into stablecoins. They’re crypto-assets: buying, holding or using them is banned in Algeria, with two months to a year in prison and a fine of DZD 200,000 to 1,000,000, or either one (Law 25-10Loi 25-10 du 24 juillet 2025 modifiant la loi 05-01 (JO n° 48 de 2025); guide 16).
What about other euro accounts?
Other European services open an IBAN for Algerian residents, sometimes with extra checks. The rule is the same: the account is only a pass-through, the money comes home to your foreign currency account on the day you’re paid, and nothing stays on it. Wise turns down Algerian residents (guide 15).
The simplest option is often to ask your client for an international (SWIFT) transfer straight to your Algerian foreign currency account. Plenty of European clients do this without fuss once you give them your IBAN and your bank’s SWIFT code (guide 1).
Key points
- Grey is for receiving euros, not keeping them.
- Its pages contradict each other on dinar withdrawals: ask in writing before you rely on it.
- Stablecoins and idle balances are illegal for a resident.
Sources
- Grey, withdrawing your freelance earnings in Algeria, updated 16 October 2026, read on 22 October 2026.
- Grey, opening a foreign currency account in Algeria: your options (“no dinar withdrawals to Algerian banks”), read on 22 October 2026.
- Grey, euro to Algerian dinar: official and black-market rates, read on 22 October 2026.
- Grey, Algeria page, read on 22 October 2026.
- Bank of Algeria Regulation 07-01 of 3 February 2007: art. 8, assets abroad, p. 2, original text read on 18 October 2026.
- Bank of Algeria Regulation 21-01 of 28 March 2021: art. 2, new article 57 of Regulation 07-01, p. 2, original text read on 18 October 2026.
- Ordinance 96-22 as amended: Ordinance 03-01, art. 2 (new article 1, offences), Official Journal no. 12 of 2003, p. 14, read on 22 October 2026.
- Law 25-10 of 24 July 2025 amending Law 05-01: art. 6 bis, ban, Official Journal no. 48 of 2025, p. 7; art. 31 bis, penalty, p. 12, read on 21 October 2026.