Prefunding EGP payouts in Egypt
Prefunding payouts in Egypt means holding EGP with a payout partner or a local settlement account before transfers are paid, so recipients are paid without waiting for funds to arrive. Payouts run over IPN / InstaPay and CBE RTGS. There are 19 weekday bank closures in Egypt in the next 12 months to fund around. The rules and timings below are the ones that decide how much to hold and when to top up.
Funding rules and timing in Egypt
- CBE RTGS business days run Sunday to Thursday, excluding participants' public holidays, and the CBE can declare a public holiday a business day if necessary. source
- The RTGS daily schedule sets the cut-off for bank-to-bank payments at 16:30, so interbank pound settlement closes each working afternoon. source
- The CBE describes IPN services as instant transfers 24/7 to all banks' customers, and inbound remittances can be credited to accounts in real time through the IPN at licensed banks. source
- Banque Misr pays remittances in cash on Fridays, Saturdays and official holidays through selected branches. source
The rails that spend the prefund
| Rail | What matters for payouts | Source |
|---|---|---|
| IPN / InstaPay | Launched on 22 March 2022, the IPN links all banks operating in Egypt for real-time transfers on weekdays and official holidays to accounts, wallets and cards; InstaPay limits are EGP 70,000 per transaction, EGP 120,000 per day and EGP 400,000 per month, per bank registered in the app. | source |
| CBE RTGS | Real-time gross settlement owned and operated by the CBE, open 08:30 to 16:30 every working day; all banks are direct participants, and it settles the netting results of the CBE cheque clearing house, the National Switch and EBC's ACH. | source |
| EG-ACH | Bulk interbank clearing of direct credits and debits; EGP batches are processed for settlement in the CBE RTGS from 09:00, 10:45, 12:45 and 14:45, with an end-of-day batch from 15:45. | source |
Where the prefund sits
Money for Egypt payouts is usually held with one or more of these, each a balance to watch. The full shortlist, with sources, is on the Egypt payments stack page.
| Payout partners | Thunes, TerraPay, dLocal, Nium, Flutterwave |
| Local banking and settlement accounts | Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, National Bank of Egypt |
Bank closures to fund around
Weekdays in the next 12 months when banks in Egypt are closed. Top up before each one.
| Date | Holiday | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 1 Jan 2027 | Bank holiday (end of banks' financial year) | expected |
| Thu 7 Jan 2027 | Coptic Christmas | confirmed |
| Mon 25 Jan 2027 | January 25 Revolution and National Police Day | expected |
| Thu 28 Jan 2027 | January 25 holiday, possible Thursday substitute | expected |
| Tue 9 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr (day 1) | expected |
| Wed 10 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr (day 2) | expected |
| Thu 11 Mar 2027 | Eid al-Fitr (day 3) | expected |
| Mon 3 May 2027 | Sham El-Nessim | confirmed |
| Thu 6 May 2027 | Labour Day, possible Thursday substitute | expected |
| Mon 17 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha (day 2) | expected |
| Tue 18 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha (day 3) | expected |
| Wed 19 May 2027 | Eid al-Adha (day 4) | expected |
| Thu 10 Jun 2027 | Islamic New Year, possible Thursday substitute | expected |
| Wed 30 Jun 2027 | June 30 Revolution | expected |
| Thu 1 Jul 2027 | June 30 holiday, possible Thursday substitute | expected |
| Fri 23 Jul 2027 | July 23 Revolution Day | confirmed |
| Thu 19 Aug 2027 | Mawlid, possible Thursday substitute | expected |
| Wed 6 Oct 2027 | Armed Forces Day | expected |
| Thu 7 Oct 2027 | Armed Forces Day, possible Thursday substitute | expected |
Full list and notes: Egypt bank holidays.
Corridors into Egypt
| Corridor | Average cost to send | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Italy to Egypt | 9.02% | Q3 2025 |
| Qatar to Egypt | 5.63% | Q3 2025 |
| Saudi Arabia to Egypt | 5.15% | Q3 2025 |
| UAE to Egypt | 3.7% | Q3 2025 |
| United States to Egypt | 5.36% | Q3 2025 |
Costs are World Bank Remittance Prices Worldwide averages for sending the equivalent of US$200.
Size the prefund
Hold enough EGP to cover payouts for your lead time plus every closure in that window, then top up when runway drops below target. The corridor runway calculator does the arithmetic; the glossary explains prefunding, corridor runway and liquidity buffers.
Where Polynopsis fits
Polynopsis shows the EGP balance at every partner and account that funds Egypt payouts, next to the payouts expected against it and the top-ups already in flight, and warns before the corridor runs dry, including ahead of Egypt bank holidays.
Know where all your money is.
Polynopsis gives cross-border payment teams one live position across every bank, payout partner, exchange and wallet, including money in flight, and warns before a corridor runs dry.
About Polynopsis
Polynopsis is liquidity management software for cross-border payment companies. The name joins poly, many, and synopsis, a seeing together: one live view of money spread across many banks, payout partners, exchanges and stablecoin wallets, including money in flight, with a warning before any corridor runs dry.
Why it is called Polynopsis · About Polynopsis · Glossary · Corridor runway calculator