Egypt’s central bank has approved regulations designed to allow people to make instant electronic payments between bank accounts using their mobile phones.
The statement said that a new network, to be launched by the end of the year, would also allow customers to manage all their bank accounts and complete transfers with any bank through a single application.
Central Bank Deputy Governor, Rami Aboul Naga said in a statement on Monday, that “Customers will be able through the new network to complete transfers within a few seconds, on weekdays and during official holidays using various electronic payment tools issued by Egyptian banks,”.
Over the last two years, Egypt has introduced a series of new legislation and regulatory changes designed to unleash fintech investments and change the way the country’s largely unbanked citizens do business.
A Co-founder of Egyptian lending and payments start-up MNT-Halan, Ahmed Mohsen said, payments firms, which in Egypt work in association with banks, also stand to benefit greatly from the new regulations. “It is a real game-changer,” he said.
He said that the change will allow a whole new series of functions, including money transfers with an IPN (instant payment network) or phone number, and the topping up of prepaid cards and electronic wallets.
“Right now you cannot do peer-to-peer transfers across cards, (and) I need to do an ACH (automated clearing house) to move money from one bank account to another, and that would need all your banking details,” Mohsen said. “And I cannot top up my prepaid card using my bank account.”