I wonder if you can help me on this ... im moving to Egypt from the UK in April and was just wondering .... did you guys keep your UK bank accounts or did you open one up in Egypt when you arrived?
I dont know what to do as i dont want to be charged every time i withdraw.
Any advice you have will be helpful Posts: 6 | From: UK | Registered: Nov 2007
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I wonder if you can help me on this ... im moving to Egypt from the UK in April and was just wondering .... did you guys keep your UK bank accounts or did you open one up in Egypt when you arrived?
I dont know what to do as i dont want to be charged every time i withdraw.
Any advice you have will be helpful
I opened a UK bank account here in Egypt at Barclays. I had transfered money from the UK into it. When I draw out money I get it in UK sterling then I get it changed to EP ...The exchange rate in the banks are not too good. So I go to one of the many exchange places. I have been getting 10 EP to one pound sterling....can't get that in the bank Posts: 643 | From: Over there | Registered: Aug 2007
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It's always useful to keep an account open in the UK, as it means that you can have a check book to if you want to pay for anything in the UK, maintain a subscription/membership/make voluntary contributions to the IR to top up your pension, etc. It's also useful if friends or relatives want to send you some cash And its always useful to keep one open anyway as you never know what the future will bring.
Not all UK banks/building societies charge for overseas ATM withdrawals on their accounts; so it might be worth checking whether yours does and if it does, maybe open a new account before you leave, as it will be difficult to do later if you don't have a permanent address in the UK.
I have one here for day-to-day transactions and also one there for just-in-case.
Posts: 4576 | From: Cairo | Registered: Jun 2002
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Pink Cherry where on earth are you changing your money 10LE for £1???? I saw 10.96LE in one exchange place today - not sure what it is in my bank but its a lot more than 10!
PS the Egyptian one is dual sterling / LE.
Posts: 5593 | From: Egypt | Registered: Dec 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Oldbag: Got all my UK ones plus an Egyptian one
Pink Cherry where on earth are you changing your money 10LE for £1???? I saw 10.96LE in one exchange place today - not sure what it is in my bank but its a lot more than 10!
PS the Egyptian one is dual sterling / LE.
Havent changed any for a while, but it goes up and down quite a bit. But the banks have been known to be less than 10 for one. But I have been here for a while and there have been many changes....
Posts: 643 | From: Over there | Registered: Aug 2007
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posted
Thanks for your advice on this guys - i will contact my bank and see what the deal is with withdrawing in Egypt. Thank you!!! x
Posts: 6 | From: UK | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
The HSBC bank has accounts with English and Egyptian currencies. Credit Agricol Account with English, Euro and Egyptian. I’ve kept my account in the UK and also my Visa card from the UK to pay for things over the Internet and then transfer money to pay for it from my UK account. Good idea to set up Internet banking before you leave as it makes life a lot easier. I also changed my address to my mom’s so she still picks up information sent from the bank.
Also like ‘old bag’ said the exchange rate here is around 11 but if you try to change in the UK they will only give you about 9 so best to keep your cash in English pounds and then change it as you need it when you are in Egypt.
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And its always useful to keep one open anyway as you never know what the future will bring.
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