Egypt is a popular tourist destination and numerous people are interested in sending international monetary transfers to the country.
If you have a business in Egypt, you already know the best prices, the quickest services and the most reliable methods for sending money to Egypt. In both instances, you have to carefully choose money transfer services because some of them come with high charges and hidden fees.
What transfer methods do we use at Time Doctor?
We have a remote team with people in 19 different countries around the world. The two transfer methods we use the most are:
- Payoneer – very convenient for sending and receiving. They are also one of the few methods that works to receive money in almost every country and the receiver can get their money on a debit card and withdraw from an ATM. They also have an option for direct transfer to the receiver’s bank account. They also have a $50 bonus if you receive more than $100 through this method.
- Wise (formerly Transferwise) – very low cost and also a convenient method for transfers to most countries.
Take a look at the tables below to figure out how much it will cost you to send money to Egypt. Pay attention to our black market notes as Egypt’s government has instituted, “Foreign exchange controls.”
| Table 1 – Sending $1000 from the US to Egypt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer Method | Receiving Currency Option | Stated fees to send $1000 USD | Hidden currency conversion cost | Total cost | Time for the transfer to arrive | ||
| OFX (previously USForex)* | EGP | $0 | $7.5 | $7.5 | 1-2 days | ||
| Ria Money Transfer (slow) | EGP | $5 | $15 | $20 | 3-5 days | ||
| XE Trade | USD | $0 | $25 | $25 | 3-5 days | ||
| MoneyGram (slow) | USD | $25 | $0 | $25 | 3-5 days | ||
| Western Union (slow) | EGP | $25 | $0.4 | $25.4 | 6-8 days | ||
| Ria Money Transfer (fast) | EGP | $15 | $15 | $30 | Minutes | ||
| Payoneer | EGP | $9 | $25 | $34 | 3-5 days | ||
| Western Union (fast) | EGP | $40 | $0.4 | $40.4 | 3-5 days | ||
| MoneyGram (fast) | USD | $81 | $0 | $81 | Minutes | ||
| Wire transfer | EGP | $25-55 | $10-30 | $35-85 | 3-5 days | ||
Notes:
- If you’re not sure what I mean by “hidden currency exchange fees” check out our explanation in this article.
- The fees for wire transfers are estimates and vary from bank to bank.
- Minimum transfer of $500 for OFX (previously USForex).
| Table 2: Sending Money to Egypt from Different Countries. The TOTAL Cost in Percentages including the HIDDEN currency exchange fees. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Transfer Method | Receiving Currency Option | From the US | From the UK | From Canada | From Western Europe | From Australia | |
| Small World FS | EUR | Not available | 4.6% | Not available | 0% | Not available | |
| OFX (previously USForex) | USD, GBP, CAD, EUR, AUD | 0.75% | 0.75% | 0.75% | 0.75% | 0.75% | |
| Xendpay | USD | Not available | 0.01% | 2.7% | 0.1% | 2.6% | |
| Ria Money Transfer | EGP | 2% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| XE Trade | USD, GBP, CAD, EUR, AUD | 2.5% | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.2% | 3.5% | |
| Payoneer | EGP | 3.4% | Not available | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| Azimo | EGP | Not available | 1.7% | Not available | 1.7% | Not available | |
| Wire transfer | EGP | 2.5 – 5.5% | 2 – 4.5% | 2.5 – 5.5% | 2 – 4.5% | 3 – 6.5% | |
| Exchange4free | USD & EUR | Not available | 4% | 4.2% | 0% | 4.1% | |
| Western Union | EGP & USD | 2.5% | 3.3% | 7.1% | 6.4% | 4.8% | |
| Send Money 24 | USD | Not available | 8.4% | Not available | Not available | Not available | |
| MoneyGram | USD | 2.5% | 10% | 8.8% | 8.8% | 5.1% | |
Notes:
- The methods in the tables above are for the recipient to receive the money in EGP/USD/EUR. If its other than EGP, then you may need to convert the money from USD/EUR to local currency EGP, which will cost more money perhaps around 1% depending on how they convert from USD/EUR to Egyptian Pounds(EGP).
- Western Union is providing the EGP currency option only for the United States. The rest of the countries will receive the currency in USD. The Exchange4free is providing a EUR currency option but only for Germany.
- OFX (previously OzForex) is a good option for sending larger amounts of money and their exchange rate fee goes down for larger amounts.
- Minimum transfer of $500/£500 for OFX.
The effects of currency controls in Egypt and the black market
Important:
Egypt’s government has instituted Foreign Exchange Controls. From Wikipedia:
“Foreign exchange controls are various forms of controls imposed by a government on the purchase/sale of foreign currencies by residents or on the purchase/sale of local currency by nonresidents. Often, foreign exchange controls can result in the creation of black markets to exchange the weaker currency for stronger currencies. This leads to a situation where the exchange rate for the foreign currency is much higher than the rate set by the government, and therefore creates a shadow currency exchange market.”
The official exchange rate has been unchanged for almost six months at 7.1401 per dollar, while on the black market it fell to 7.71 per dollar on Dec 9, 2014, according to the average of four dealers surveyed by Bloomberg.
However the bank allowed the Egyptian Pound (EGP) to reach 7.24 EGP per Dollar. In the black market it reached 7.87 EGP per dollar on Jan 19, 2015. Black market rates are 8% higher.
Other articles that might interest you:
Transferring Money with Wise (formerly TransferWise)
What’s the Cheapest Way to Send Money to India?
What is the Cheapest Way to Send Money to Indonesia?
Rob Rawson is a co-founder of Time Doctor which is software to improve work productivity and help keep track of what your team is working on, even when working remotely.