The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) headquarters, Cairo, Egypt. AP
This came within the core set of financial inclusion indicators the CBE released.
According to the CBE, the total ownership of transactional accounts that include all type of accounts at banks, Egypt Post, mobile wallets, and prepaid cards recorded 36.8 million citizens, representing 56.2 percent out of the total 65.4 million eligible adults (+16 years old).
With regards to women’s financial inclusion, the CBE’s indicators showed an upsurge in the number of females who own a transactional account, which recorded 16 million women at the end of 2021, representing a growth rate of 171 percent compared to 2016.
Furthermore, the total number of prepaid cards jumped to an average of 39,883 cards per 100,000 adults, while the number of mobile wallets reached 38,505 wallets per 100,000 adults.
The indicators also showed that the number of financial access points, which include branch networks of banks, Egypt Post, Microfinance Institutions, ATMs, points of sale (POS), and payment service providers reached 1,037 points per 100,000 adults over the same course.
The CBE said that the issuance of the financial inclusion core set effectively contributes to a good understanding of the Egyptian market and the consumers’ behaviour, as well as measuring the level and trends of financial services and products’ outreach to all segments of society to attain sustainable growth and economic stability.
It added that issuing these indicators comes under the framework of the efforts exerted on the state level towards achieving economic empowerment for all citizens.
About 50 percent of Egypt’s economic sectors are not included in banking services, and the CBE is currently working to involve these sectors through non-financial services, CBE Deputy Governor for Financial Inclusion Sherif Loqman stated in March.
As part of Egypt’s 2030 Vision, the country adopted a holistic strategy to transform its financial services into cashless ones and to include a majority segment of the society into the banking system.
Under this strategy, payroll cards of 4.3 million state employees so far have been replaced by Meeza cards, which is the national governmental payment system.
Moreover, the CBE launched in March the National Instant Payment Network and InstaPay mobile application, which allows clients to process electronic fund transfers instantly, seamlessly, and at any time.
Furthermore, Egypt’s largest national banks — Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt (NBE), and Banque du Caire — as well as Global Ventures launched ‘Nclude’, a new fintech support fund that targets tech-driven start-ups with an initial investment worth $85 million.
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