Money Matters

Banking hours are Sunday through Thursday, from 8 am to 2 pm. The travel offices of American Express and Thomas Cook offer currency exchange, and there are numerous commercial exchange offices. Commercial exchange offices open later into the evening than banks and are, therefore, more convenient. Many larger hotels have bank branches within. Your hotel will also change currency directly, but may offer a poor rate of exchange.

You'll find lots of ATMs across the city, at bank branches, in shopping malls, and in hotel lobbies. You can rely on getting access to Egyptian pounds from ATMs in Cairo—though not so much in the rest of the country as machines are not filled up as regularly outside the capital.

Keep any receipts from currency exchange of ATM withdrawals, as you may need to show these to customs officials.

Contacts

Credit Agricole Egypt. 2-6 Shar'a Hassan Sabry, Zamalek, Cairo. www.ca-egypt.com.

BNP Paribas. Nile Towers, Downtown, Cairo. www.egypt-bnpparibas.com.

HSBC. 1005C Nile City Towers, Bulaq, Cairo. www.egypthsbc.com.

National Bank of Egypt. 24 Shar'a Sherif, Downtown, Cairo. www.nbe.com.eg.