Currency and Money in Egypt

Exchange Rate

The currency of Egypt is not very stable; its official exchange rate is constantly and gradually falling against the dollar and euro. As for the relation of the Egyptian currency to the ruble, this issue is generally difficult to predict due to volatility, primarily of the ruble's own exchange rate. At the moment (2025), for a quick and rough estimate/translation of cost from pounds to rubles at the official rate, you can multiply the amount in pounds by 1.5 (more precisely - 1.6). For example:

• 200 pounds = 200 * 1.6 = 320 rubles
• 500 pounds = 500 * 1.6 = 800 rubles

But once again we remind you that rates change constantly and both Egyptian and Russian money can depreciate, so before your trip, use this exchange rate table and calculator:

Market exchange rate (Egyptian pound) for today (02/06/2026)

• 100 фунт (EGP) = 138,42 rubles (RUB)
• 1 US dollar (USD) = 52,02 EGP
• 100 rubles (RUB) = 72,24 EGP
• 1 euro (EUR) = 60,50 EGP

Real currency exchange rate *

• 1 US dollar (USD) ≈ 50,98 - 51,92 EGP
• 1 euro (EUR) ≈ 59,29 - 60,38 EGP

* - The real exchange rate is calculated taking into account the fees charged by exchange offices and banks for the exchange. It can also be higher than the calculated one, but if you are offered an exchange rate lower than this, it's a reason to think about finding another place to exchange.

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* The calculator converts amounts based on official world currency exchange rates. When exchanging currency at exchange offices, the rate will differ slightly depending on the exchange office's commission.

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What Money is Used in Egypt

The national currency of Egypt is the Egyptian pound. Its official international designation is EGP, but in Egypt on price tags the local currency is usually denoted as – L.E. (from French - Livre egyptienne, translates as Egyptian pound) or less commonly E£. This can be a bit confusing, but you just need to remember it and look for the L.E. designation on goods. By the way, sometimes prices on tags can be in piastres: for example 5000pt instead of 50 L.E.

The name of the local pounds is pronounced as paunt or paund, respectively in the plural according to English rules it will be paunts or paunds.

One Egyptian pound equals 100 piastres (pt), but today piastres are a rarity. Banknotes in circulation are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 pounds; coins are 25, 50 piastres and 1 pound. There are coins of 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 millieme (the smallest coin), but they are almost not in circulation. If you come across small coins, be sure to keep them as a souvenir – they are almost a rarity.

Notes of different denominations are almost the same size, and they depict ancient temples and mosques of Egypt.

What Currency to Bring to Egypt

In Egypt, there will be no problems exchanging any of the two main world currencies - the euro and the US dollar, so you can safely bring either one, whichever you prefer or have available. Moreover, in most cases on vacation you won't even need to exchange dollars or euros for Egyptian pounds, since in hotels, when buying excursions, for souvenirs in markets and tourist shops, you can pay directly in dollars or euros, but there are nuances, which we discuss in detail in the article - What Currency is Best to Bring to Egypt. We also advise reading the information about whether you should exchange currency in Egypt here.

As for rubles, there is not much point in bringing them to Egypt for exchange or payment. If you try very hard, you can find private money changers or other tourists in resort areas who can exchange rubles for pounds. But, unfortunately, the conversion rate will be unfavorable, because even Egyptians understand that the ruble is unpredictable and can "collapse" at any moment. Therefore, rubles in Egypt will only be appropriate in the most critical cases, when you have no other money left, cards don't work, and you really need to pay.

Where and How to Exchange Currency in Egypt

Considering that the local currency in Egypt is not held in high esteem, and the US dollar is very popular among locals as a savings and payment tool, there will be no difficulties exchanging this currency for local Egyptian pounds. You can exchange dollars almost everywhere in banks, ATMs, exchange offices and with private money changers. The euro is not as popular, but it can also be easily exchanged in exchange offices, banks or ATMs, less often with private money changers.

And now details about each exchange method:

• Street Money Changers and the Black Market

  This is the most profitable, but also the most dangerous way to exchange. Street money changers in Egypt are not at all people in leather jackets and black glasses who hang around exchange offices and make a living from it. Anyone who works with tourists – a street vendor, guide, souvenir shop seller, and basically almost anyone – can offer to exchange currency in Egypt at a better rate than the official one. Money changers do not advertise their activities and offer exchange secretly, as it is potentially illegal, so don't be surprised if you are offered to go into a store or souvenir shop away from prying eyes for exchange.

  As we already mentioned, the exchange rate on the black market is better than the official one, but now this difference is very small compared to the hype in 2023. To roughly understand the current real rate and how much higher it is than the official one, you can look at it on this website https://egcurrency.com/en/currency/egp/exchange

  Another way to exchange currency in Egypt on the black market is to find money changers through Telegram. There are several chats in this messenger, you can find them by searching for "Hurghada exchange" or "Sharm exchange", or simply follow the link to our Egypt currency exchange chat, and arrange an exchange there. In the chats, they offer to buy pounds for cash dollars, euros, rubles, and even by transferring rubles to a Russian card. But be especially careful with cashless exchange, as it can be a trap using the old "triangle" scam, i.e., when you transfer money to someone's account, and the courier with the money says they didn't receive anything and you transferred the money to someone else, and they have nothing to do with it. So at least get the money first and then make the transfer.

• Exchange at ATMs

  Exchanging at ATMs is one of the most reliable and accessible ways for tourists to exchange currency. Deception is practically excluded here, commissions are clear and honest, rates are favorable and differ from official ones by only fractions of a percent. There are many ATMs, outdoor and 24/7. To understand if a particular ATM exchanges cash, just look at its welcome screen (sometimes you need to press any key to remove the ad splash screen), and if there is an item "Cardless operations", "Cash service" or Exchange, that's the one you need. Rates and commissions differ between ATMs, you can check several and compare. In our experience, the best option was CIB (Commercial International Bank Egypt).

• Exchange Offices

  There are not many separate exchange offices in Egypt, but they can be found at major resorts. Rates at exchange offices are even better than at banks, and they work on a schedule more convenient for tourists. But, unfortunately, there is a risk of being cheated, including honestly. Most often it's a hidden commission indicated on the board in small letters, switching bills, handing out counterfeits.

• Exchange at the Airport Upon Arrival

  This is the least profitable of all exchange methods. And although the difference between the rate in the city and at the airport is small, about 3 percent, there is not much point in exchanging money at the airport, since all transport from the airport can be paid for in dollars.

• Exchange at Banks

  This is one of the most reliable options, and we advise exchanging large sums precisely at bank branches, as there is the least chance of receiving a counterfeit note or encountering a hidden commission. If you need to exchange a small amount just for vacation, there's not much point in exchanging at banks.

• Exchange Upon Purchase

  If you buy something with dollars or euros, the seller will almost certainly try to give you change from the purchase in pounds, unless you discuss this in advance. This is not bad in principle, but here too, of course, you need to agree on the exchange rate in advance.

Bank Cards

There are many ATMs in Egypt where you can withdraw money. You can pay with a bank card in many stores, hotels, travel agencies and even pay for excursions with hotel and accompanying guides, as they now sometimes have mobile terminals for card payments. But for tourists from Russia, the option of using a bank card in Egypt has become irrelevant due to imposed sanctions: all cards from Russian banks of the Mastercard, Visa and Mir systems do not work here.

Important! Mir cards do NOT work in Egypt, no matter what anyone tells you in chats and forums!

But there are still card options for Russians. You can get a card from the Chinese UnionPay system at Russian banks. They work for cash withdrawals and for payment at store terminal checkouts where available. But from experience, they are not accepted everywhere. You can pay with it in large supermarkets, boutiques in large shopping malls, and in very rare places in small stores. But in tourist shops and travel agencies, they prefer cash; the UnionPay card will be almost useless there.

Here is a comparison of commissions and card costs for UnionPay as of 2026:

Finally, there is a theoretical possibility for Russians to obtain a foreign Visa or Mastercard; they are accepted in a much larger number of outlets. But there have already been many cases of service refusal for such cards, facts of forced closure of accounts of Russian citizens in foreign banks. And also the cost of registration with delivery to Russia is very high, up to tens of thousands. So we do not recommend this option for an average tourist visiting Egypt once or twice a year for vacation: it is too complicated and expensive, and without a guarantee of functionality.

If you are a lucky owner of a working bank card in Egypt, you need to be prepared for some peculiarities:

• At local ATMs, you can only withdraw Egyptian pounds; you cannot withdraw dollars or euros. The exchange rate offered is quite acceptable, but there is a commission from the ATM owner bank and from your bank, which can ultimately lead to a loss of up to 10% of the withdrawal amount. Therefore, it is much more profitable to withdraw cash (dollars or euros) at home without commission and exchange them here.
• As for card payments, the card is also inferior to cash payment in this regard. In our practice, for comparison, we made a card payment at a large supermarket and a cash exchange on the same day. It turned out that cash dollars were exchanged at a rate of 15.3, while payment at the supermarket occurred at a rate of 14.8 including the payment system commission, which is -3.3%. For small expenses, this is not a lot, but if you pay for a purchase worth $100 equivalent, that's already a loss of $3.3.

Bank Transfers (Sber, SBP and others)

The local tour business quickly adapted to the ban on the use of bank cards by Russian tourists, and as of 2026, accepting bank transfers is widely practiced, at least by hotel and excursion guides, some local travel agencies, and pharmacies. We won't say it's a widespread practice, but during our last trip to Hurghada in December 2023, we repeatedly encountered offers to pay in this way. However, the rate when paying in rubles from guides is less favorable than paying in cash dollars. A specific example from our experience: for an excursion to Cairo, we were offered to pay by ruble transfer at a rate of 105 rubles per dollar, while buying cash dollars at Russian banks was easily possible for 92 rubles.

Tipping

Tipping, called "baksheesh" here, is an integral part of the relationship between tourists and service staff in Egypt, and often the main income of Egyptians. You should understand that most of them will expect "baksheesh" from you, and not receiving it once or twice will change their attitude towards you. The salaries they receive are so small that they are not enough for food, and their main income comes from tips. And not getting them from you, they simply will have nothing to eat and feed their family.

On the other hand, you should distinguish between tips for services that are actually provided to you as part of their job, even simple ones like opening doors for you, from imposed services like street accompaniment from an attached guide you didn't ask for, a guide in a museum, a camel owner, or just a beggar on the street. If money is brazenly extorted from you for services you did not want or have already paid for in the general bill, firmly refuse. You should give tips for services that were actually provided to you, and give voluntarily.

For small services, within a few pounds, it is customary to give to hotel and airport staff who help carry luggage, open car doors, escort you to your hotel room, call a taxi. A bit more, 20-30 pounds or about 1 dollar, will be expected from you by hotel staff for room cleaning. Of course, you shouldn't expect change from a large bill given as a tip. Also, $1-2 left once to a bartender in an all-inclusive hotel will sharply change their attitude towards you, and you won't constantly hear something like: "No beer, will be in 10 minutes" in response to your orders. In general, if you want to be treated specially and served in everything and try to satisfy any of your needs and whims, then leave tips.

In restaurants, you will also be expected to tip 5% – 10% of the bill amount. Don't skimp on them if you liked the service and the food, especially if you plan to return to this restaurant.

You can give taxi drivers 10% more than the metered fare if you think the ride was worth it. But in resort cities, meters are rare, so the taxi driver will almost certainly demand a much larger amount from you than locals pay or what is indicated on the meter or in the taxi ordering app. Therefore, it is not worth leaving a tip when traveling at an agreed price.

In the end, if you are sorry to give a few dollars or don't have them, give at least a few pounds, say thank you and smile. That's better than giving nothing and walking past as if nothing happened.