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Nicosia - Cyprus has further eased capital controls imposed last month to prevent a run on deposits, raising the threshold for transactions that do not require prior approval by the central bank, the finance ministry said on Thursday.
With the latest decree, Cyprus has permitted transactions up to €500 000 domestically without prior vetting, the ministry said in a statement.
Banks on the island were shut down for nearly two weeks in March after Cyprus agreed a €10bn international bailout that forced major depositors at its two biggest lenders to pay part of the cost of the rescue.
The banks reopened under tight restrictions on March 28, a first in the history of the eurozone, to prevent a run on deposits by panicked savers.
Firms, which cannot make transfers exceeding €20 000 overseas unless they are vetted by the central bank, had complained the restrictions were stifling. Russia had warned it would only restructure its loan Cyprus if its interests were protected.
Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told Reuters he was confident the controls, which he called "necessary but temporary measures", would gradually be lifted within the next six months.
Other provisions of the new decree raised the amount individuals can transfer domestically to €10 000 a month from €3 000, and to €5 000 from €2 000 abroad.
Travellers may now take €3 000 abroad, increase from €2 000. Other restrictions, such as a €300 cash withdrawal limit and a ban on cashing cheques, remained in place.
