Cairo; 11 Sep 2022 (UMMN): In a bid to promote Russian tourism in the country, Egypt is to allow tourists to pay through the Russian Mir system starting later this month, an Egyptian Central Bank official told Al-Monitor.
Russian Ruble will be on the list of currencies used by Egyptian banks and be used by tourism companies and hotels.
A source at the Central Bank of Egypt told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the bank, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Finance, will allow banks across Egypt to access the Russian Mir payment card system later in September.
“The decision targets all commercial and industrial activities and not only tourism,” the official added.
Mir is a payment and money transfer system operated by the Russian National Payment Card System. Russia developed the Mir system to evade sanctions imposed on its ability to transfer funds abroad after its occupation of the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.
Many countries, including Bahrain and Iran, are currently seeking to join the Mir system to facilitate financial and commercial transfers with Russia.
Ehab Wahdan, director of Tez Tour Egypt, a tourism company that mainly targets tourists from Russia and Ukraine, told Al-Monitor, “I expect a surge in the number of Russian tourists coming to Egypt during the upcoming winter season.
Tourism experts expect an influx of Russian tourists to Egypt amid an increase in Russian bookings.
Tourism aside, the source at the Central Bank explained that the decision to use Russian ruble is aimed at achieving economic recovery as part of Egypt’s attempts to diversify its foreign currency sources. The source also stressed that linking Egypt to the Russian payment system will help buy Russian products, especially wheat and fertilizers, in the Russian currency.
Egypt imports 70% of its wheat needs from Russia, according to data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, which indicated that during 2021, Egypt imported 4.2 million tons of Russian wheat.
