A number of money changers in Kandahar told Afghanistan International that the Taliban this week closed about 20 money exchange shops in the three bazaars of Atoll, Kandahar and Bahar.
According to Sarafan, these stores were closed due to not having a business license or not being able to pay the fees set for obtaining a payment service license.
They said the Taliban asked the money service companies in the regional centers to deposit 20 million Afghanis as collateral to the Central Bank of Afghanistan and invest 15 million Afghanis. According to this decision, each financial service company can have five agencies in other provinces.
The money changers say they cannot pay the guarantee of 20 million Afghanis and therefore they cannot get a business license. They also say that the payment service companies are not ready to surrender their agency license after this decision.