Egypt Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in egypt, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Trade Financing
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Methods of Payment

U.S. exporters typically request Letters of Credit (LCs) from Egyptian buyers, arranged by the buyer through Egyptian banks and confirmed irrevocably by an American bank, though recent reports indicate that American firms prefer payment in advance over LOCs. Other exports work through SWIFT wire transfers. Tighter credit terms offered by the EU, Japan, and China have required importers to seek full LOCs or cash-in-advance payments for imports. According to new regulations, the U.S. exporter must submit the invoice in addition to export documentation to his/her bank and the U.S. bank should inform its Egyptian correspondent bank about a request. Import transactions are based on document collections between banks. Documents coming directly to clients will not be accepted. For more information about the methods of payment or other trade finance options, please read the Trade Finance Guide.

Banking Systems

According to the Central Band of Egypt (CBE), the Egyptian banking system consists of 40 banks categorized as commercial, non-commercial public, and private sector. ATM services are offered at all bank branches as well as many point-of-sale locations. In practice, most of these banks operate as commercial banks, although there are a few specialized banks (i.e. agriculture and real estate). The National Bank of Egypt, Bank Misr, and Banque Du Caire are large state-owned banks that control about 40 percent of the banking sector. All banks in Egypt are subject to supervision by the CBE; however, the Arab International Bank, Nasr Social Bank, and the National Investment Bank are exempted due to special provisions in laws and treaties.

Foreign Exchange Controls

According to Law No 88/2003, individuals and businesses can hold foreign currency in Egypt, have local bank accounts denominated in foreign currency, buy foreign currency, and transfer it abroad. This law allows an individual or business to engage in foreign currency transactions, but it requires the use of banks or foreign exchange bureaus that are licensed to trade in foreign currencies. The banks and foreign exchange bureaus all submit statements of their transactions to the CBE, which ultimately controls all foreign exchange transactions. Banks have reportedly been told to prioritize paying for imported “essential” goods, which generally include food and medical items. Commercial transactions must be supported with specific documents to justify the transfer. In October 2023, many Egyptian banks placed new restrictions on their credit and debit cards, limiting the amount of hard currency purchases that a card holder could make both within Egypt and in other countries.

 

U.S. Banks & Local Correspondent Banks

Citibank
4 Ahmed Pasha St., Garden City, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-2791-0673, +2-02-27913-524
Fax: +2-02-2795-8056

Bank of Alexandria
49 Kasr El Nil St., Downtown, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-2391-3822, +2-02-2399-2000, +2-02-2393-4999 Fax: +2-02-2390-7793

Bank of New York Mellon
9 Abdel Moneim Riad St., Mohandeseen, Giza 
Tel: +2-02-3336-5818, +2-02-3336-5822, +2-02-3336-5823 Fax: +2-02-3336-5816

Bank Misr
151 Mohamed Farid St., Downtown, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-2391-4239/0656 Fax: +2-02-2393-5381

National Bank of Egypt
1187 Corniche Al Nil, Boulak, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-2594-5000, +2-02-2594-5668, +2-02-2594-5600 Fax: +2-02-2574-7614

Arab National Bank
35 Abdel Khalek Tharwat St., Downtown, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-2397-0202, +2-02-2392-6749, +2-02-2391-6120/7133/2140
Fax: +2-02-2391-5922, +2-02-2395-5102

Attijariwafa Bank Egypt
12 Al Sheikh Youssef Sq., Garden City, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-16222, +2-02-2366-2620/2700/2600 Fax: +2-02-2366-2814/2810/2811 

Commercial International Bank CIB
Nile Tower Bldg., 4th Fl., 21/23 Charles DeGaulle St., Giza
Tel: +2-02-3747-2000, +2-02-3570-2690, +2-02-3570-3043 Fax: +2-02-3568-3844

HSBC
306 Corniche El Nil St. Maadi, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-2529-8000, +2-02-2529-8751, +2-02-3535-9100 Fax: +2-02-2525-8080.

Ahli United Bank
1191 Corniche El Nil, Floor 9, Cairo
Tel: +2-02-2614-9500/9600/9700, +2-02-2580-1200/1201/1205
Fax: +2-02-2613-5160, Fax: +2-02-2619-0574

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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