How to Exchange Currency in Cairo

Whether you live in Cairo or are just here for a few days, one thing is certain: at some point, you will have foreign cash within Egyptian borders.

Whether it’s coming back from a Christmas at home or a friend from college visiting, you will be the lucky holder of US dollars, European Euros, or just about any other “high value” currency. These moments are to be cherished forever, as they might be the best purchasing power you will ever enjoy.

Exchange offices (just like koshks) are pretty much everywhere you look. They all want your money, and are willing to give you giant wads of Egyptian bills in return.

Foreign currency is king in Cairo; it pays to know what you are doing.

Today, Cleo Lingo will be explaining…..how to exchange currency in Cairo.

Vocabulary

Is there an currency exchange office here? : “Fee MEKtub suhRAWfuh ooREYEub men hehnuh?”

في مكتب صرافة قريب من هنا؟

Of course we start it out this way. Got to get in that conversation practice before you actually get to the office.

Is this the exchange office? : “HOOuh daw MEKtub suhRAWfuh?”

هو ده مكتب صرافة؟

Good morning/afternoon/evening. Can I exchange currency here? : “SuhBAWKH el khAIR / MEHsuh El khAIR…MOOMkin uhHOWull fuLOOS HEnuh?”

صباح الخير / مساء الخير…ممكن احول فلوس هنا؟

Just to make sure the people inside know what you actually want. It will be pretty obvious, of course. These things seem to be everywhere in Cairo. They will often have an electronic board displaying current exchange rates.

These are the things that they might tell you:

Yes. What do you want to exchange? : “EYEwuh….EYEizz tuHOWull AY?”

ايوة…عايز تحول ايه؟

Dollars or Euros? : “DowLAR wawluh YOHroh?”

دولار ولا يورو؟

The last question is what I heard at almost every exchange office I ever went to. The guys at the counter usually just assume you are American, or coming from somewhere in the EU. Because who else would visit Cairo, right? (Egyptians’ words, not mine). Even if you aren’t from one of these countries, we suggest that you get these currencies in cash (whatever amount you’d like to spend) before arriving in Egypt. As you’ll come to find out quite quickly, the exchange rates are massively in your favor.

Upon confirmation that you are, indeed, in the right place, here are some things you can say to get the (likely brief) conversation rolling.

How many pounds (How expensive is the dollar/euro today)? : “BeeKEHM eldohLAR / elYOHroh elnuhHARduh?”
بكام الدولار / اليورو النهاردة؟

I have dollar/euro/British pounds/pesos. : “Ana mawAYuh dohLAR / YOHroh / BEEsohs.”

انا معايا دولار / يورو / بيسوس

I come from American/United Nations, and I want to buy (exchange) for Egyptian pounds. : “Ana men awmREEkuh w EYEizz ehshTEHree giNEE MUHsree….beeKEHM eldohLAR elnuhHARduh?”

انا من امريكا و عايز اشتري جنية مصري…بكلم الدولار النهاردة؟

These are pretty straightforward transactions. Regardless of anything you’ve heard about getting ripped off at Egyptian markets, that’s not going to happen here. Currency offices have a reputation to maintain if they want foreign currencies coming in, which Egypt desperately needs. Once the worker hears how much currency you will be exchanging, he will likely bust out his calculator before taking your money. This is to show you how much you will be receiving and to give you a chance to back out in case you’re indecisive. If you have any amount of street smarts at all, you should know generally how much you’ll be getting. Don’t panic when it’s slightly less than the multiplication of the two numbers. There might be taxes, but this shouldn’t be anything more than a couple percentage points.

Pretty standard stuff. If you haven’t memorized this phrase already, get on it. Applicable in just about any situation in which you “agree on something somebody said + hand something over.” Use your imagination.

The currency guy will probably take all your cash and put in one of those “counting machines.” Watching that thing in action is itself worth the extra 1 percent in taxes you pay. Pretty nifty. Once he’s done, here are some things you might hear:

Can I have a receipt, please? : “MOOmkin fawTOOruh low suMAWHt?”

ممكن فاتورة لو سمحت؟

Likely he will give you the receipt, along with your new stack of Egyptian bills. Count it then and there. Nobody will be offended, but they might laugh if you don’t hold the wads the same way Egyptians do (you’ll see what we mean). Hopefully you brought a bag along. Not the smartest idea to be walking around with 10,000 Egyptian pounds in your hand. In any case, end it with something a bit polite:

You have probably noticed that this is a pretty dry process. You walk in, hand them your money, and then grab your pile of Egyptian cash. If there’s no line, the whole process might take as little as two minutes. Not the best situation to be practicing your Egyptian Arabic. Luckily for you, Cleo Lingo lives for banter. Here’s some random stuff you might throw out to get a laugh, impress people, impress yourself, or all three.

What is this?! I thought it was more! : “Ay daw? Ana knt FEHKruh AWKtar men kehduh?”

ايه ده؟ انا كنت فاكره اكتر من كده!

My friend told me it was……to the dollar/euro. : “Ana sawhbee EHlee ehnoo eldohLAR b (number) elnuhHARduh!”

انا صاحبي قالي انه الدولار ب….اانهاردة!

Is the exchange rate the same everywhere? : “ HOOuh bihnefss elTUHmnn fee KILEuh HEHtuh?”

هو بنفس التمن في كل حتة؟

Can you give me a little extra? I want to buy some koshary right now. : “MAWinFAW’sh tihZOWiddhaw shWAYuh? Ana EYEizz eshTEHree kosharee dellWUH’tee.”

مينفعش تزودها شوية؟ انا عايز اشتري كشري دلوقتي.

Where is the black market around here? : “Fane elSOO elAWswawd ehlee HEHnuh?”

فين السوق الأسود اللي هنا؟

The currency exchange biz is probably one of the most boring jobs there is. Might as well make the guys behind the desk laugh.

Cultural Insight

For the first year that I was in Cairo (and long before), there were black market shops for currency exchange. These were essentially exchange offices that gave you way more (sometimes even close to double) the amount of Egyptian pounds as the standard rate. This is because for years (think post-2011) the Egyptian economy has been getting increasingly worse. The strength of the Egyptian pound has been in perpetual decline, and foreign currency has been valued at a premium. Anything exchange offices could do to bring in more dollars or euros (like illegally altering the going rate) was seen as a kind of investment. With the devaluation of the currency in late 2016, these illegal markets largely closed shop. They are still there somewhere, but the days of getting 12 pound per dollar while the official rate was seven are mostly gone.

You can also exchange currency at the Cairo airport. Right before you go through customs, there are numerous banks to your right-hand side that provide the service. The taxes/“extra charges” at the airport will be more expensive than pretty much anywhere else, but the main selling point is convenience. It’s a good feeling to already have loaded pockets when you finally pick up your bag.

Good luck with those fat wads of cash. 🙂

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Happy learning,

Cleo Lingo