🇪🇬How to Receive International Payments in Egypt

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) regulates all foreign exchange activity under Banking Law No. 194 of 2020 and its implementing regulations. Egypt has historically maintained a managed exchange rate system, but following the March 2024 exchange rate liberalisation — supported by the IMF programme — the Egyptian pound (EGP) now floats more freely against major currencies, with the CBE intervening to limit excessive volatility. The practical effect for freelancers is that the official rate and the bank rate are now much closer together than they were in previous years, reducing the incentive to route payments through informal channels.

Egyptian residents may open and hold foreign currency accounts (known as foreign currency savings or current accounts) at CBE-licensed banks. The major state banks — Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, and National Bank of Egypt (NBE) — all offer USD, EUR, and GBP accounts. Private banks including Commercial International Bank (CIB), QNB Al Ahli, and Arab African International Bank also offer foreign currency accounts with competitive service levels. Incoming SWIFT wire transfers are credited in the foreign currency without mandatory conversion.

The CBE has periodically imposed restrictions on foreign currency availability at banks — most significantly during the 2022–2024 import restrictions era — but these restrictions applied to outbound purchases of foreign currency, not to inbound transfers of earned FX. Freelancers receiving foreign currency from overseas clients have generally been able to receive and withdraw their earnings throughout these periods.

Banking Law No. 194 of 2020 replaced the earlier Banking Law No. 88 of 2003 and gives the CBE broad supervisory powers over foreign exchange transactions. Under this framework, banks must conduct KYC verification on account holders and report large or unusual transactions. For freelancers, this means providing your national ID (Bitaqa El-Qawmeya), proof of address, and a description of the business activity when opening a foreign currency account or when explaining unusually large inflows.

CBE Circular No. 2 of 2014 (and subsequent updates) governs the regulatory framework for non-bank payment service providers. Platforms such as Payoneer must be authorised or have a correspondent arrangement with a CBE-licensed entity to lawfully process payments to Egyptian residents. Payoneer operates in Egypt through partnerships with licensed banks and has maintained uninterrupted service for Egyptian users. Wise operates with more limited functionality in Egypt — check current availability on the Wise website before relying on it as a receiving channel.

Egypt's Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) oversees non-banking financial services but does not directly regulate foreign payment platforms for the purposes of receiving freelance income. The CBE is the primary regulator relevant to freelancers. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financing Unit (EMLCU) may be relevant if your transaction volumes are high — banks are required to file Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) on unusual patterns, so maintaining clear documentation of the business rationale for large inflows is practical risk management.

Payoneer has been the dominant platform for Egyptian freelancers for many years, particularly for users of Upwork, Fiverr, and other global platforms. Payoneer offers withdrawal to Egyptian bank accounts in EGP. Following the 2024 pound liberalisation, Payoneer's EGP conversion rates have been more closely aligned with bank spot rates than they were during the dual-rate era. Withdrawal fees are typically USD 3 per transfer plus a conversion spread of approximately 2%. Payoneer also has an Arabic-language support option.

Wise's availability in Egypt has been limited compared to other markets. As of early 2025, Wise supports outbound transfers from Egypt but does not offer local Egyptian bank account details for receiving payments. If your clients are sending via Wise, they would need to send an international wire to your Egyptian bank account directly rather than to a Wise balance. Verify current product availability at wise.com/help before directing clients.

For direct bank wire, CIB (Commercial International Bank) and NBE are the most efficient receivers of international SWIFT transfers in Egypt, with well-tested USD and EUR corridors. CIB in particular has a strong correspondent banking network and efficient foreign currency account management for individuals. Incoming SWIFT fees range from USD 15–30 depending on the sending bank and amount. Provide your client with your account number, IBAN (Egypt adopted IBAN in 2013 for local and international wires), bank name, branch name, and SWIFT code.

The Egyptian Tax Authority (ETA — Maslahat Al-Daraib) administers income tax under Income Tax Law No. 91 of 2005 and its amendments. Egyptian tax residents — individuals whose permanent residence or principal place of business is in Egypt — are taxed on their worldwide income. Freelance income from overseas clients is taxable in Egypt regardless of where the client is located.

Egypt's income tax for natural persons is progressive. Income up to EGP 15,000 per year is exempt (this threshold is periodically adjusted by the annual finance law — confirm the current exempt amount on the ETA website). Above the exempt threshold, rates scale from 10% to 25% depending on income band. Since the Finance Law amendments of 2023, higher-income earners (above EGP 400,000 per year) face an additional 5% solidarity surcharge, bringing the top effective rate to 27.5%.

Self-employed freelancers must register with the ETA, obtain a tax file number, and file annual income tax returns. The return for a given year is due by 31 March of the following year. ETA's online filing portal (etax.eta.gov.eg) supports electronic self-assessment for natural persons. Allowable deductions include business expenses directly related to earning the income — internet, equipment, software subscriptions, and a proportion of home office costs. Egypt does not impose capital gains tax on most personal income from services; the freelance income is categorised as commercial or professional profit (arbah tijariya aw mahniya).