Currency rates / transfering problems !!!

[dave99]

Hi

Anyone a currency expert out there.

How do you get the best rate for exchanging British Pound Sterling to Egyptian pounds, and NO fees.

Anyone had any problems getting the money transfered, eg taking 2 to 3 weeks to arrive, or getting lost and having to be traced.

Anyone been told that they have to exchange to US Dollar then to Egyptian.

Please do not just list currency brokers most do not want to know about Egyptian pounds

- any real, good and bad experience stories would be great.

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[Janoulaki]

Right,

it is well known that Egyptian Pound is not stable enough to make a transfer in it.

Making a payments will be a bit difficult, but will keep you posted once my currency company opens it's own Egyptian Pound Account and we will be able to trade.

I will have an answer by this week as we just spoke to the financial association to get a permission.

 

[dave99]

What does unstable mean ???

Right,

it is well known that Egyptian Pound is not stable enough to make a transfer in it.

Making a payments will be a bit difficult, but will keep you posted once my currency company opens it's own Egyptian Pound Account and we will be able to trade.

I will have an answer by this week as we just spoke to the financial association to get a permission.

Are you a currency trader or something ?

I'm a bit concerned by your comment on unstable.

I've been transferring from UK over the last 9 months or so and Egyptian Pound has been more stable than the US Dollar - so what is your reason for stating this.

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[Janoulaki]

Currency

Dave,

I do apologise, you can delete the comment

I meant that this currency is not common and not a lot of FX companies can trade.

Most of the developers therefore asking to pay in Dolars.


SORRY for the misunderstanding
My apologies for the wrong word,

J

 

[dave99]

What other currencies get used

Dave,

I do apologise, you can delete the comment

I meant that this currency is not common and not a lot of FX companies can trade.

Most of the developers therefore asking to pay in Dolars.


SORRY for the misunderstanding
My apologies for the wrong word,

J

I've seen many site advertise in Euros.

Does that mean that UK buyers are expected to send money to Egypt in Euros or what.

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[Janoulaki]

Paying for Egyptian properties

It basically depends on the developer,

I just spoke to the brokers and the reason why we are not trading (at the moment) is because we don't have an account cause it is not common currency. It will take us a week to open one and we are doing it now.

I have talked to the developer and why they are asking for EUROS is just because it is more convenient for clients who can't get hold of the Egyptian Pound.

But as I said I know that a lot of launches are coming up in December and a lot of interest will be to pay in Egyptian Pound, however as far as I am aware it might change soon.

J

 

[lovesquadsue]

Hi

Anyone a currency expert out there.

How do you get the best rate for exchanging British Pound Sterling to Egyptian pounds, and NO fees.

Anyone had any problems getting the money transfered, eg taking 2 to 3 weeks to arrive, or getting lost and having to be traced.

Anyone been told that they have to exchange to US Dollar then to Egyptian.

Please do not just list currency brokers most do not want to know about Egyptian pounds

- any real, good and bad experience stories would be great.

..

Hi - dont know if this helps but we have always got a better deal transferring from GBP to EGP when actually in Egypt. Also, if the GBP is strong against the dollar as it is at the moment then it can be worth changing GBP in the UK to US$, then once in egypt changing the dollars to EGP! Does that make sense! (in february of this year we exchanged gbp to egp in the uk before travelling and got 11 egp to 1 gbp with £1.75 commission fee - in egypt we got 13 ish egp to 1 gbp with no commission) If you are thinking of this for transferring monies from a UK account to an Egyptian account the unfortunately as i understand it you are stuck with your banks exchange rate which is usually very poor! Maybe someone in Egypt could confirm current exchange rates for GBP - EGP and USD - EGP?? Then we could defo work out how to get the best deal! Only problem with exchange rates is that they constantly fluctuate so nothing is certain - ever! We have paid for our property via a sterling bank transfer which was accepted by the developer no problem (i presume they pick up the charges at their end) from a barclays uk bank account to a hsbc hurghada account.

 

[dave99]

Sterling sounds best

Sterling sounds best to me - did you get the purchase price in Sterling in your contract or did you have to match a price in Euros or Egyptian pounds.

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[propertywatch1]

Hi
AS i have said on this forum before, i have been in Hurghada now for just over a year so i have some experience with money exchange rates and banks.
First and this is for readers who seek information about opening a bank account here,it is straight forward you can combine an egyptian and sterling account at the same time,allowing you to deposit and leave in GBP and remove it in either GBP or egyptian LE. So you dont have to change everything you deposit into egyptian LE.
Second and this is directed to anyone wishing to get a better exchange rate here in Hurghada is to see the bank manager who will negotiate a better rate than he shows on the board this can be quite a difference over a large sum.
So you can now SWIFT transfer money from the UK in sterling to your dual bank account here ( each account you hold has a seperate 3 digit prefix ) this lets you keep your GBP in your account till you need to exchange it to LE. This way you are not losing out .... ie you will get the higher rate here than the lower rate you would have been given if you just sent egyptian LE to your bank account here.
You can also add a prefix to your account for dollars and euros. As stated the dollar is weak against the egyptian pound so much so that the egyptian goverment has just bought half a billion dollars to try to bring the rate up. This is still not affecting the sterling or the euro which are still holding steady.
Before the recent changes with british customs you could bring personally £10.000 as long as if challenged you could prove its origin ... bank statements etc.
On a recent business transaction i was involved in for example it took 4 days to SWIFT transfer funds from Belgium to my account in Hurghada Egypt, so proves a SWIFT transfer is quite quick and painless.
On the subject of egyptian companies here in Hurghada prefering foreign currency rather than their own egyptian pound i think this is mainly due to the facts ive quoted before ... getting a better rate for exchanging large amounts of foreign currency. So obviously they make more money this way..than if you pay in LE. This is just my opinion of my observations over the past year.

 

[lovesquadsue]

Sterling sounds best to me - did you get the purchase price in Sterling in your contract or did you have to match a price in Euros or Egyptian pounds.

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the price was agreed in sterling and written into the contract in sterling. what currency is the purchase price stated in on your contract?

 

[dave99]

comparison

Thanks for relating all this - saves me doing the same post - this is exactly what I have done via HSBC.

HSBC seems to be the only bank in the UK that has branches in Hurghada (and even one in El Gouna).

I have to say it's not painless having to go to two NEW banks and great accounts but it's worth it.

Just as a guide I did a sterling to stering transfer from UK to Hurghada and I was mazed to find it only took 1 day to arrive.

Then I noted that a transfer from within my accounts in Hurghada was made using a rate of 11.38 LE to £1, best rate I've ever seen - this by arrangement with the manager as per the last post - it really does work !!!

No need for currency agents.

DOWNSIDE - you have be in Hurghada to set it up.


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[hiszein]

In my opinion its better to pay in Euros or GP pound , as the us$ is low this days in the market , today $=5.51 , 1 Euro =7.94 GP pound = 11.32
The Euro & GP pound are stable and the change comes in their side.
ie ( last week euro was 7.84 to 7.87 ) so it's always better to pay in Euros or GP pound
When you transfer to Egyptian bank there is no commissions as you will be already paying the transfer fees.
better rate can be in the exchange offices around the country , but not a big difference. I'm in Egypt and I trade in currency on daily basis to cover my export expenses

 

[dave99]

Contracts in GB Sterling

the price was agreed in sterling and written into the contract in sterling. what currency is the purchase price stated in on your contract?

I am only selling to UK residents so I am carrying the currency risk and my contracts are in GB Pound sterling which is why I wanted help with the currency transfer ideas.

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[hiszein]

money exchange

ok , you can add a 3-5% margin on the gp , the gp is very strong in egypt and will never move more than this %
let me know if I can be of any help

I am only selling to UK residents so I am carrying the currency risk and my contracts are in GB Pound sterling which is why I wanted help with the currency transfer ideas.

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[awahee123]

Hi I always transfer from the UK with HSBC in sterling it seems to be a quick and painless method.
Personally I dont think there is any need to even look at LE as everybody here seems to like the Pound,Euro or USD.

 

[dave99]

Interesting

Hi I always transfer from the UK with HSBC in sterling it seems to be a quick and painless method.
Personally I dont think there is any need to even look at LE as everybody here seems to like the Pound,Euro or USD.

Does that apply to builders, electrical shops, plumbers etc


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[awahee123]

Hi Dave,

If you read my post it does say personally it is my thought,however please show me one who wouldnt take the mentioned currency.Even the trolley providers at the airports are Asking for a pound rather than LE when they are tipped.

 

[hiszein]

transfer

yes , everybody accepts $ or Euro or pounds
no problem at all

 

[dave99]

This is interesting

yes , everybody accepts $ or Euro or pounds
no problem at all

So how does the buyer and seller agree a rate for say a big TV, or a freezer, or air conditioner,

- the main point of this question that there is no sense in using GB pounds for payment if all the advantage is lost is a poor conversion rate in the shop

- do you have experience of buying anything significant where you are certain that the price in Egyptian pounds is more expensive than paying in GB pounds, and I assume that to do this you have to have your GB pound account in Hurghada to draw from.

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[hiszein]

there is a misunderstanding , If you want to buy you will have the bank exchange rate in the news paper.
some ppl prefer to take foriegn currency so they will get 1 or 2 cents extra fron the black market

So how does the buyer and seller agree a rate for say a big TV, or a freezer, or air conditioner,

- the main point of this question that there is no sense in using GB pounds for payment if all the advantage is lost is a poor conversion rate in the shop

- do you have experience of buying anything significant where you are certain that the price in Egyptian pounds is more expensive than paying in GB pounds, and I assume that to do this you have to have your GB pound account in Hurghada to draw from.

..