Financial Matters
Getting money
Bank Account
Citibank has four or five branches throughout Cairo and one in Alexandria . You can open a dollar account there for a cost of $6 every three months. You can write checks to yourself to deposit money in this account from your American (or other foreign) account, or have money wired in. This way you can withdraw dollars and convert them for a better rate than the bank rate. Note: If you have an American Citibank account, this really means nothing in Citibank Egypt . They are completely separate . You can also get a dollar account at some other banks.
Visit the branches and speak to the representative there to get more details.
Exchanging Money
The easiest way to exchange money is either at banks or money exchangers. Money exchangers typically give better rate, but at the time of writing this, all rates (banks, exchangers, other markets) are about the same.
ATM
You can also of course just use a bank ATM and get the regular bank rate. This is could also be very useful in situations in which you need money and can?t get to the bank. Make sure you know what fees are involved for using your ATM card in ATMs in Egypt .
Wiring Money
Western Union is the easiest way. Call to ask for rates and details. (see the directory)
Traveler's Checks
You can exchange these at Thomas Cook or Barclay's for a 1% charge, $10 charge minimum. Citibank will not exchange the traveler's checks, even Citibank issued checks. These fees are subject to change. You may want to ask around at different places before exchanging.
