Wise vs CIB for an Egyptian moving from Saudi Arabia — where should I keep $25,000 USD?
I’m an Egyptian currently living/working in Saudi Arabia, and I’m planning to leave Saudi Arabia and move temporarily to Egypt before eventually moving to Germany.
I currently have/use Wise and I’m considering keeping around $25,000 USD there as savings. However, Wise has told me that if I change my country of residence to Egypt, my account would become “withdrawal only.”
This makes me unsure whether Wise is a good place to keep the money while I’m living in Egypt.
My alternative is to open a CIB USD foreign-currency account in Egypt and transfer the money there. CIB currently offers USD accounts, and it also supports foreign-currency international transfers. Their published fees for outgoing foreign-currency transfers are 0.3% (capped at $150) plus SWIFT/other charges. CIB foreign-currency account and transfer information
My possible plan would be:
Saudi bank → Wise USD → CIB USD account → eventually my own German bank account
I have several questions for Egyptians or anyone who has actually done something similar:
Wise: If Wise changes my account to “withdrawal only” after I update my residence to Egypt, can I simply withdraw/transfer my existing USD balance to my own CIB USD account?
Would Wise allow me to keep the $25,000 there temporarily while I’m in Egypt, or would I eventually be required to withdraw it?
CIB: If I transfer $25,000 USD from my own Wise account to my own CIB USD account, has anyone experienced CIB questioning or blocking an incoming transfer like this?
What source-of-funds documents did CIB ask you for when receiving a large USD transfer from abroad?
Would statements showing Saudi salary → Saudi bank → Wise → CIB normally be enough to document the source of the money?
Has anyone had CIB later ask them to update their KYC/data after moving abroad? If so, could you handle it remotely, or did you have to physically visit Egypt?
Most importantly, has anyone transferred $10k–$50k+ from their CIB USD account to their own European/German bank account? Did CIB allow it without major problems, or did they require extensive documentation?
Would you personally feel safer keeping $25,000 in Wise while living in Egypt, knowing the account may become withdrawal-only, or keeping it in a CIB USD account and then transferring it to Germany when I move?
Are there any reasons why CIB would be a bad choice for temporarily holding $25,000 USD if my ultimate goal is to move the money to my own German bank account?
Finally, if you’ve actually been in a similar situation—Egyptian resident + USD savings + Wise vs Egyptian USD bank account + later moving the money to Europe—what would you do differently?
I’m mainly looking for real experiences, especially with CIB and transfers to Europe, rather than general advice. Thanks!