If you are planning to visit Egypt as a student, tourist or wants to start a business operational in Egypt, you definitely need to have an Egyptian bank account for better financial management. You can open a bank account as a non-resident of Egypt. Opening a bank account in Egypt as a foreigner is usually difficult and tedious, but not improbable. There is therefore need for you to be adequately informed about the things you need to know (formalities) for a less tedious process because of the strict regulations.
There are certain general requirements by Egyptian banks including resident permit with at least six months validity, and minimum deposit which could be up to thousands of Egyptian Pounds, depending on the bank. Each bank has its own policy for opening a bank account with it for foreign nationals.
Documents Required
As stated earlier, requirements for opening a bank account in Egypt could vary from bank to bank, but you are required to produce the following to be allowed to open a bank account in Egypt:
- Your valid resident permit (with at least six months validity)
- Passport-sized photos
- Passport
- visa
- Minimum deposit (as determined by the bank)
- A duly filled and signed account opening form
Types of Account
There are two main types if accounts operated in Egypt. These are Savings and Current accounts. The operation of these accounts is the same obtainable in other parts of the world.
What to do
The first thing to do if you want to open a bank account in Egypt is to make sufficient inquiries from your bank(s) of interest about their individual policies and requirements, including the required minimum deposits. You can walk into the bank to make your inquires or ask from your friends and associates. Egyptian bank staff usually speak fluent English, so you don’t need to bother about communication challenges. After making the inquiries at the customer services, you can get the account opening form, fill and return with the other required documents. Since you will be required to present your residence permit, visa and a minimum deposit, you are very unlikely to be able to open an Egyptian bank account online or from abroad
Some of the banks in Egypt include:
- Bank Audi
- HSBC Bank
- Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
- ABK-Egypt
- Banque Misr,
- Ahli United Bank
- Citibank
- First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
- BNP Parisbas
- The Emirates NDP
- Qatar National Bank (QNB)
- National Bank of Egypt
- Credit Agricole
- Alex Bank, etc.
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