How to pay tourists in Egypt

Previously, Russian tourists on vacation in Egypt could use a full arsenal of financial instruments to pay for purchases and pay for travel services. It was possible to safely use bank cards, bring international currency and even rubles in cash, make international transfers to bank cards and accounts, send and receive payment system transfers. But since February 2022, all the most convenient payment methods for Russians have been disabled, there are not so many options left. We will tell you in detail about all the ways tourists can spend money in Egypt in 2025:

• Bank cards

  The sanctions of 2022 completely disabled the possibility for tourists from the Russian Federation to use bank cards in Egypt. No cards of the Visa, Mastercard and Mir payment systems issued by Russian banks work. Information sometimes pops up in the media that negotiations are underway to launch the Mir system in Egypt, but given that Western countries have provided for sanctions for its use, a solution to this issue is unlikely in the near future.

  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.

• 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.

• Cash

  Cash has always been and today remains the most profitable way to pay abroad. You can take any of the world currencies to Egypt, you can exchange both US dollars and euros, the British pound and the Canadian dollar, and the currencies of the Middle East countries at a good exchange rate.

  But it is useless to bring the Russian ruble here. If you find a place where you can exchange rubles, it will be a very unfavorable rate compared to buying houses for rubles dollars and coming to Egypt with them.

  In general, the favorite currency for Egypt is the US dollar. Dollars can be exchanged for Egyptian pounds at an excellent exchange rate, or you can pay directly for goods and services in tourist areas. However, there are nuances with the calculation in dollars directly, which we describe in detail in the article - Do I need to change the currency in Egypt.

In general, summing up, as of 2025, the best way to pay in Egypt for Russian tourists is cash currency, ideally the US dollar. But even if you still have euros or other strong international currency, including money from the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman), it is quite possible to take them on vacation to Egypt as a reserve.