Money
Money and payments in Egypt
The short answer
Egypt runs on cash more than you may be used to. Cards work in hotels and established businesses in the main cities and resorts, but taxis, small shops, market stalls and tips need Egyptian pounds, ideally in small notes. Withdraw or exchange through a bank or licensed exchange office, and look up the day’s rate at the Central Bank of Egypt before you judge any quote.
At a glance
- Currency
- Egyptian pound. Written EGP; on price tags you will often see LE
- Banknotes
- 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 pounds. The 1 pound also circulates as a coin
- Where cards work
- Hotels and established businesses in major cities and tourist destinations
- Where you need cash
- Taxis, small shops, markets and tips
- Reference exchange rate
- The Central Bank of Egypt’s official exchange rates
- At Cairo Airport
- Bank ATMs and exchange offices in the arrival halls of Terminals 1, 2 and 3
Cash and cards
Experience Egypt puts it plainly: credit cards are accepted in the major cities and tourist destinations, yet Egypt is still a cash-based society, especially for taxis and small shops. Plan to carry both. Use the card for hotels and larger bills and keep pounds for everything small.
If a card terminal offers to bill you in your home currency, choose Egyptian pounds. The conversion rate offered at the till is set by the merchant’s bank, and you cannot compare it with anything while you are standing there. Tell your bank you are travelling if it asks you to, and carry a second card kept apart from the first.
Sources: Experience Egypt
ATMs and changing money
Change money at a bank or a licensed exchange office, and keep the receipt. Anyone offering a better rate on the street is offering a problem. The Central Bank of Egypt publishes official exchange rates, which gives you a fair reference for any rate you are quoted.
Cairo International Airport lists bank ATMs and currency-exchange offices in the arrival halls of Terminals 1, 2 and 3, some before passport control and some after it. That covers your first taxi and tips. It does not cover a visa on arrival, which is paid in US dollars before you reach those machines; the visa and entry guide explains that step.
Sources: Central Bank of Egypt · Cairo International Airport
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Why there is no price list here
We do not publish sample prices for coffee, lunch or a taxi ride. Exchange rates and local prices move, and a figure without a date misleads more than it helps. For a feel for costs, check the central bank’s rate, then look at a current menu or an in-app fare estimate once you are there. For anything we arrange, the price is the one in your written quote.
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Tipping
Tipping, often called baksheesh, is part of everyday life in Egypt, and small tips for porters, housekeeping, drivers, guides and boat crews are normal. There is no official rate. Treat any figure you read, including one from us, as custom and not a rule.
In a restaurant, look at the bill first to see whether a service charge has already been added. For guides, drivers and crew on a private trip, ask your planner what is customary for the length of service, so you can set the cash aside in advance. Keep a supply of small notes. Large notes are hard to break in small shops, and you will not want to ask for change from a tip.
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What this means for your trip
- Arrive with a working card and a plan for your first pounds: an airport ATM or exchange office after you land.
- If you will buy a visa on arrival, bring the US dollars from home.
- Break large notes at hotels and bigger shops whenever you can, and keep the small ones for tips and taxis.
- Ask for prices in pounds and pay in pounds. Agree the price before a taxi ride, a photo, an animal ride or any small service.
- Do not change more than you expect to spend. Check with the bank or exchange office what it needs from you to change pounds back.
Sources
Open the source behind a claim and check it against your own dates, passport, health and route. Rules, prices and schedules can change after our check.
Time-sensitive facts last checked against these sources:
- Experience Egypt: Official practical information
The Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities portal for transport, useful numbers, and visitor information.
- Central Bank of Egypt: Official exchange rates
The official reference for current Egyptian-pound exchange rates.
- Cairo International Airport: Cairo Airport passenger services
Official terminal information for banks, ATMs, exchange counters, shops, and telecom services.