Currency and money in Egypt

Exchange rate

The currency of Egypt is not very stable, its rate is constantly and gradually falling against the dollar and the euro. As for the attitude to the ruble, this issue is completely unpredictable due to the volatility, first of all, of the ruble exchange rate itself. At the moment (early 2023), for a quick and rough estimate /transfer of value from pounds to rubles, you can multiply the amount in pounds by 3, or more precisely, by 2.7. For example:

• Rough calculation - 200 pounds = 200 * 3 = 600 rubles
• A more accurate calculation of 200 pounds = 200 * 2.7 = 540 rubles

But once again we remind you that the courses are constantly changing and the money of Egypt and the Russian Federation may depreciate, so it's better to use this course table and calculator before the trip.:

Биржевой курс обмена (египетский фунт) на сегодня (13/01/2025)

• 100 фунт (EGP) = 201,24 рублей (RUB)
• 1 доллар США (USD) = 50,57 EGP
• 100 рублей (RUB) = 49,69 EGP
• 1 евро (EUR) = 51,80 EGP

Реальный курс обмена валюты *

• 1 доллар США (USD) ≈ 49,56 - 50,52 EGP
• 1 евро (EUR) ≈ 50,76 - 51,75 EGP

* - Расчет реального курса обмена произведен с учетом комиссий, которые удерживаются обменными пунктами и банками за обмен. Он может быть и выше расчетного, но если вам предлагают курс обмена ниже этого, это повод задуматься о поиске другого места для обмена.

Калькулятор валюты*

Сумма:
из	доллар СШАрубльевроегипетский фунт ↺
в	доллар СШАрубльевроегипетский фунт ↺
Результат:

⇅

* Калькулятор пересчитывает суммы исходя из официальных мировых курсов валют. При обмене валюты в обменных пунктах курс будет незначительно отличаться в зависимости от комиссии обменного пункта

Включить виджет валюты*

* - При включенном виджете, курс обмена выбранной валюты будет отображаться в правом сайдбаре на каждой странице сайта, пока вы его не отключите сами.

What is the money 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 designated as – L.E. (from French - Livre egyptienne, translated – Egyptian lira) or less often E£. This is a little confusing, but you just need to remember this and look for the L.E. designation on the goods. By the way, sometimes prices in piasters may be indicated on the price tags: for example, 5000pt instead of 50 L.E.

The name of local pounds is pronounced as pound or pound, respectively, in the plural according to the rules of the English language it will be pounds or pounds.

One Egyptian pound is equal to 100 piastres (pt), but today piastres are rare. In wide circulation are banknotes in 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 pounds; coins of 25, 50 piastres and 1 pound. There are coins in denominations of 20, 10, 5, 2, 1 milliem (the smallest coin), but there are almost none in circulation. If you get your hands on small coins, be sure to keep them as a keepsake – it's almost a rarity.

Banknotes of different denominations almost do not differ in size, and they depict the ancient temples of Egypt and mosques. Moreover, on the one hand, the denomination of the banknote is made in Indo-Arabic, and on the reverse side it is duplicated in Arabic numerals familiar to us (we wrote in detail about the numbers in Egypt here). Therefore, it can be difficult to distinguish bills of various denominations from unaccustomed ones, you have to turn them over all the time to see the dignity of the bill with the usual numbers. In addition, sometimes pound notes can be replaced with old piastre notes, which is 100 times less. We advise you to be very careful when calculating and receiving change, take your time. After all, if in Egypt you pay more than the prescribed amount or do not resent the wrong surrender, no one will tell you about it, but only pray to Allah for you.

What currency to take with you to Egypt

In Egypt, there will be no problems with the exchange of any of the two major world currencies - the euro and the US dollar, so you can safely take any of them, which you prefer or which is available. Moreover, in most cases, on vacation, you will not even need to change dollars or euros for Egyptian pounds, because in hotels, when buying excursions, for souvenirs in markets and tourist shops, it is quite possible to pay directly in dollars or euros, but there are nuances that we describe in detail in the article - Which currency is better to take to Egypt. We also advise you to read the information about is it worth changing the currency in Egypt here

As for rubles, it makes no sense to take them to Egypt for exchange or settlement. If you try very hard, then in the resort areas you can find private money changers or other tourists who can exchange rubles for pounds. But, unfortunately, the conversion rate will be extremely unprofitable, because even the Egyptians understand that the ruble is unpredictable and can "fail" at any moment. Therefore, rubles in Egypt will be appropriate only in the most critical cases, when you have no other money left, the cards do not work, and you really need to pay off.

Where and how to change the currency in Egypt

Considering that the local currency in Egypt is not held in high esteem, and the dollar is very popular among locals as a means of saving and for settlements, there will be no difficulties with exchanging this currency for local Egyptian pounds. You can exchange it almost at every step in banks, ATMs, exchange offices and private money changers. The euro is not so popular, but it can also be easily changed in exchangers, banks or ATMs, less often from private money changers.

• Exchange at ATMs (ATM)

  ATM exchange is one of the most reliable and affordable ways for tourists to exchange currency. Fraud is practically excluded here, the commissions are clear and honest, the courses are profitable and differ by only a fraction of percent from the official ones. There are a lot of ATMs, there are street and round-the-clock ones. To understand whether a particular ATM changes cash, just look at its welcome screen (sometimes you need to press any key to make the screen saver disappear), and if there is a "Cardless operations" "Cash service" or Exchange item there, then you need it. The rates and commission at different ATMs are different, you can bypass a few and compare. In our experience, CIB (Commercial International Bank Egypt) turned out to be the best option.

• Exchange offices

  There are not very many separate exchange offices in Egypt, but they are found in large resorts. Exchange rates in exchangers are even better than in banks, and they work at a more convenient time for tourists. But, unfortunately, there is a possibility of running into deception, including honest. Most often it is a hidden commission indicated on the scoreboard in small letters, the substitution of bills, the issuance of fakes.

• Exchange at the airport on arrival

  This is the most unprofitable of all methods of exchange. And although the difference between the exchange rate in the city and the airport is small, about 3 percent, but there is no big point in changing money at the airport, since all transport from the airport can be paid in dollars.

• Exchange in banks

  This is one of the most reliable options, and we advise you to change large amounts in bank branches, because here it is least likely to get a fake bill or get on a hidden commission. If you need to exchange a small amount just for a rest, then there is no big point in exchanging in banks.

• Exchange when buying

  If you buy something for dollars or euros, then the seller will almost certainly try to give you change from the purchase in pounds, if you have not discussed this issue in advance. This is not bad in principle, however, and here, of course, it is necessary to discuss the exchange rate in advance.

• Street money changers

  And finally, 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 the exchange offices and earn a living from it. A street vendor, a guide, a souvenir shop seller, and, in general, almost anyone who works with tourists can offer to change the currency in Egypt at a more favorable rate than the official one.

Bank cards

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

Theoretically, Russians can get a working card of a foreign bank abroad or issue a card of the Chinese UnionPay system in the banks of the Russian Federation, but it is not a fact that these options will turn out to be working. Judging by the reviews and news in the media, there have already been many cases of denial of service of UnionPay cards issued by Russian banks, and there have also been facts of forced closure of accounts of Russian citizens in foreign banks. So we do not recommend considering these options for an ordinary tourist visiting Egypt once or twice a year for recreation: it will be too difficult and expensive, and even without a guarantee of working capacity.

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

• At local ATMs, you can only withdraw Egyptian pounds, dollars or euros, you will not withdraw. At the same time, the exchange rate is quite acceptable, but there is a withdrawal fee from the ATM owner bank and from your bank, which in the end can lead to a loss of up to 10% of the withdrawn amount. Therefore, it is much more profitable to withdraw cash currency (dollars or euros) at home without commission, and exchange them here.
• As for payment by card, in this matter the card is also inferior to the cash payment. In our practice, for comparison, we carried out card payment in a large supermarket and cash exchange in one day. It turned out that cash dollars were changed at the rate of 15.3, and payment in the supermarket occurred at the rate of 14.8, taking into account the commission of the payment system, which is -3.3%. For small expenses, this is not very much, but if you pay for a purchase worth $ 100 in equivalent, this is already a loss of $ 3.3.

Sber Bank transfers

The local tourist business quickly changed to a ban on the use of bank cards of Russian tourists, and as of 2025, the acceptance of bank transfers by the Savings Bank began to be practiced, at least by hotel and tour guides, some local travel agencies, pharmacies. We will not say that this is a widespread practice, but during our last trip to Hurghada in December 2022, we repeatedly met offers to pay in this way.

Tips

Tips, called "baksheesh" here, are an integral part of the relationship between tourists and service personnel in Egypt, and often the main income of Egyptians. You should be sympathetic to the fact that most of them will expect "baksheesh" from you, and not having received it once or twice will treat you differently. The salaries they receive are so small that they will not be enough for food, and they receive their main income in the form of tips. And without receiving them from you, they will simply have nothing to eat and feed the family.

On the other hand, it is necessary to distinguish tips for services that are really provided to you by the nature of their work, even if they are as simple as opening doors in front of you, from imposed services in the form of escorting a guide who accosted you on the street, whom you did not ask about it, an escort at the museum, the owner of a camel, or even just beggars on the street. If you are being brazenly extorted for services that you did not want to receive or that you have already paid in the general account, then firmly refuse it. It is necessary to tip for services that have really been rendered to you, and to give voluntarily.

Tips for small services, ranging from a few pounds, are usually given to a hotel and airport employee who helps carry luggage, opens the car door, takes you to your hotel room, calls a taxi. A little more, 20-30 pounds or about $ 1, the hotel staff will expect you to clean the room. Of course, it's not worth counting on change from a large bill given in the form of a tip. Also, 1-2 dollars left once to the bartender at the hotel using the all-inclusive system will dramatically change his attitude towards you, and you will not have to constantly hear something like: "There is no beer, it will be in 10 minutes" in response to your orders. In general, if you want to be treated in a special way and served in everything and try to satisfy any of your needs and whims, then leave a tip.

In restaurants, you will also be expected to tip 5% – 10% of the bill. Do not feel sorry for them if you liked the way you were served and liked the food, especially if you plan to return to this restaurant.

Taxi drivers can be given 10% more of the cost of the trip by the meter if you think the trip was worth it. But counters are rare in resort towns, so taxi will almost certainly charge you a much larger amount than the locals pay, so it's not worth leaving a tip when traveling at the agreed price.

In the end, if you feel sorry to give a few pounds or you don't have them, give at least one pound, say "Thank you" and smile. It's better than not giving anything and passing by as if nothing had happened.