Before you start
- Passport
- Valid visa or residence permit — a residence permit makes this considerably easier
- Proof of address
- A minimum deposit, commonly EGP 1,000–5,000
- Sometimes an employment contract or home-country bank statements as proof of income
Step-by-step
- 1
Choose a bank with a branch you will actually pass
CIB is generally the most accommodating to foreigners; QNB, NBE and Banque Misr are the other main options. In a city stretched along seventy kilometres of coast, a branch on your side of town is worth more than a marginally better product on the other.
OnlineWho: You - 2
Open EGP and USD accounts in the same visit
Do both at once. Retrofitting a foreign currency account later means repeating the whole process, including the queue.
In personWho: You - 3
Bring proof of income
An employment contract or home-country bank statements are commonly requested to evidence source of funds.
In personWho: You - 4
Get the residence permit first if you can
Some banks will decline on a tourist visa alone. The plastic residence card turns a negotiation into a routine transaction. If your permit is only weeks away, waiting is usually the faster route overall.
In personWho: You - 5
Set up cards and online banking before you leave the branch
Arrange app access and cards in the same visit rather than returning. Keep meaningful cash on you regardless — outside malls, chains and the seafront restaurants, Alexandria runs on cash.
In personWho: You
Documents you’ll need
- Passport
- Visa or residence permit
- Proof of address
- Employment contract or bank statements
- Minimum deposit
Things most newcomers don’t know
Hold dollars. It is the single most consequential financial decision you will make in Egypt.
The Egyptian pound has lost most of its value against the dollar over recent years. Residents routinely keep savings in USD accounts, which every major bank offers, and convert only what they need for the month. Salary paid in pounds and left in pounds has repeatedly lost real value while sitting still, which no tax planning can offset.
Source: Egyptian currency history; major bank USD account availability
Non-residents can now open accounts, which is genuinely recent.
A Central Bank of Egypt circular of 7 August 2024 required Egyptian banks to open non-resident accounts for foreign customers not living in Egypt. That reversed years of practical difficulty and is new enough that branch staff and older guides may not reflect it. Cite the circular if you meet resistance.
Source: Central Bank of Egypt circular, 7 August 2024
Alexandria is more of a cash city than Cairo, and further from the centre more so.
Card acceptance is solid in San Stefano, the malls and the seafront chains and thins out quickly beyond them — in Bahari, at the fish market, in the older inland districts and for the small services you use daily. Small denominations are genuinely useful. Do not plan to live off a card here.
Source: community-reported, corroborated across Alexandria residents
A rent contract in your own name is the proof of address that unlocks everything else.
Banks want documented local address, and a written tenancy agreement is the cleanest form of it. That is one of several reasons to insist on a proper written contract rather than the informal arrangement a landlord may prefer — it also matters for residence paperwork and for having any position at all if the tenancy goes wrong.
Source: Egyptian bank account opening practice
Common mistakes to avoid
- Leaving savings in Egyptian pounds when USD accounts are readily available at every major bank.
- Opening only an EGP account and having to return to add a foreign currency one.
- Trying to open an account on a tourist visa at a bank that requires residence.
- Assuming card acceptance comparable to Cairo's expat districts, let alone to Europe.
- Choosing a bank on product terms without checking there is a branch on your side of a very long city.
Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.
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Sources
- Central Bank of Egypt — official, Non-resident account circular, 7 August 2024; verified August 2026
- Commercial International Bank (CIB) Egypt — provider, Verified August 2026
- National Bank of Egypt — provider, Verified August 2026
Last verified August 2026. Government processes change — always confirm critical details against the official source before acting.