# Banking in Egypt



## Editor (Aug 20, 2009)

Moving to Egypt? Your guide to expatriate banking services in Egypt Introduction The Arab Republic of Egypt occupies the northeastern corner of Africa. Despite enjoying economic growth, particularly in the past decade, the recent economic downturn resulted in a slowing down of the economy, along with a rise in unemployment. Arabic is the official language of Egypt, and [...]

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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

sam311 said:


> I am a retired person from the USA and will have a direct deposit to a bank there ??? I was told from my Embassy there that my check will arrive and clear within one day??
> Can anyone answer ?


I am wondering how they could do that. post here is erratic and I cannot see how they could clear a foreign cheque in a day... If I bank one of my personal cheques into an overseas account that I have it takes a full two weeks to clear.

Maiden


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## NZCowboy (May 11, 2009)

sam311 said:


> I am a retired person from the USA and will have a direct deposit to a bank there ??? I was told from my Embassy there that my check will arrive and clear within one day??
> Can anyone answer ?


You need to clarify your banking terms ...
By direct deposit ... do you mean T/T (Telegraphic/Transfer) ... takes 3-5days working days. Also note non-working days here is fri-sat and usa is sat-sun

Check ... do you mean paper check issued by overseas bank, ...paper checks take a long time to clear, local checks can take 7-10 days to clear, I would agree with MS at least 2weeks for overseas bank.

T/T is the fastest, but no way can it be next day, due to the swift code system all banks use to do overseas funds transfer.


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## moataz123 (May 26, 2010)

A bank transfer takes exactly 48 hours. A check drawn on any bank with the currency of the same country (us$ on US bank, sterling pounds on a UK bank), takes 7 days if you deposited it in your account here. These are international regulations and will not change from bank to bank or country to country.

Please note that the banks here are mostly foriegn banks, so it must follow the international regulations as the mother bank. Even the Egyptian banks are forced to follow the international regulations according to the agreemenst.

And nobody is using telegrams any more, the banks now are using SWIFT systems (which is a wire transfer). This is the 2 working days.


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## NZCowboy (May 11, 2009)

moataz123 said:


> A bank transfer takes exactly 48 hours. A check drawn on any bank with the currency of the same country (us$ on US bank, sterling pounds on a UK bank), takes 7 days if you deposited it in your account here. These are international regulations and will not change from bank to bank or country to country.
> 
> Please note that the banks here are mostly foriegn banks, so it must follow the international regulations as the mother bank. Even the Egyptian banks are forced to follow the international regulations according to the agreemenst.
> 
> And nobody is using telegrams any more, the banks now are using SWIFT systems (which is a wire transfer). This is the 2 working days.


Moataz
No one said they are using telegrams. 
In the banking industry wire transfer is commonly referred to as T/T (telegraphic transfer)
_Telegraphic Transfer

This is a fast, accurate and safe way of sending money overseas by telex or cable to your named beneficiary. You can also include a short message in your telex. If you are an HSBC Account holder, you will enjoy preferential rates._
from HSBC website Egypt

Its not exactly 48 hours, it is totaly dependant on the countries you are sending between and their time difference,and their cut off/closing time for the day, most banks quote 3-5 working days.
USA to NZ usually takes 5 days but NZ to USA 3 days
Last month had following T/T's Egypt to NZ took 4 days. Egypt to USA 3 days. Uk to NZ 4 days.
You have to understand the swift code refers to Country and the Bank(not branch) and the all transaction from originators Country to that swift code are bundled together and transferred at the end of the working day. In NZ the cut/off is 10pm, if the destination country has already opened for the day the transfers won't appear to the following day. They arrive in destination country in the swift account (intermeditary account) the bank then processes to the branches/accounts, and thus the following day appears in your account, .... basically three steps = three days.


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## moataz123 (May 26, 2010)

NZCowboy said:


> Moataz
> No one said they are using telegrams.
> In the banking industry wire transfer is commonly referred to as T/T (telegraphic transfer)
> _Telegraphic Transfer
> ...


Thank you for the information. Yes, it seems to depend on the time difference, but the main term is 2 working days, between here and Europe it's 2 working days, which is not exactly 48 hours or 2 days in some cases. But it's strictly this 2 working days which is written on all SWIFT msgs.

And no, the SWIFT code refers to the country, the bank, and the branch, and they appear directly into the branch account the same moment the branch opens it's swift machine and starts the process.

Maybe the last paragraph depends on each bank system, but this is what banks here and in Europe do. 

What you quoted from HSBC Egypt website I think is like a money transfer, something like western union system, which is not between 2 accounts: government account USA ----> personal account Egypt.

Anyway, like this we made it easier for sam311 to know the ranges and arrange his life according to it.


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## NZCowboy (May 11, 2009)

Moataz
It may only take 48 hours if its between EUR - EGY its basically the same timezone, are your accounts with the same bank but in different countries?
The forms I fill out are called T/T's they have Telegraphic Transfer written across the top. 
I am transfering from one of my accounts to another one of my accounts with a different bank in another country.

Just check up on swift codes

_The latest edition is ISO 9362:2009 (dated 2009-10-01). The SWIFT code is 8 or 11 characters, made up of:

4 letters: Institution Code or bank code.
2 letters: ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code
2 letters or digits: location code (if the second character is "1", then it denotes a passive participant in the SWIFT network)
3 letters or digits: branch code, optional ('XXX' for primary office)
Where an 8-digit code is given, it may be assumed that it refers to the primary office.

SWIFT Standards, a division of The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), handles the registration of these codes. For this reason, Bank Identifier Codes (BICs) are often called SWIFT addresses or codes._

I have been only using the 8 digit codes as I have always done, have to chase up my banks as why they haven't notified me of the 11 digit codes that include branch, when it was introduced in October.


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## moataz123 (May 26, 2010)

NZCowboy said:


> Moataz
> It may only take 48 hours if its between EUR - EGY its basically the same timezone, are your accounts with the same bank but in different countries?
> The forms I fill out are called T/T's they have Telegraphic Transfer written across the top.
> I am transfering from one of my accounts to another one of my accounts with a different bank in another country.
> ...


I worked in bank branches for 20 years, and 2 years before I left in 2005, every branch had it's own swift code and machine. That was Misr International Bank (MIBank) which were merged in Societe General 2006.

When I went to Romania, I was transferring money from my account in Egypt to an account in a bank in a Romanian city, which had also it's own swift code, and the transfer were taking 2 working days exactly because we are in the same time zone.


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