The number of users of accounts that enable financial transactions, such as at banks and Egypt Post or using mobile wallets and prepaid cards, rose to around 76 per cent of the adult population aged 15 and above in June to reach almost 54 million out of around 71 million and up from around 75 per cent in December 2024, according to a Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) statement last week.
Indicators of financial inclusion among young people also improved, reaching around 54 per cent and up by around one per cent during the same period. The CBE reported that financial inclusion grew by 214 per cent between 2016 and June 2025.
Banking expert Sahar Al-Damati told Al-Ahram Weekly that over the past decade Egypt has worked to promote financial inclusion through the establishment of new bank branches, particularly in rural areas, to familiarise people with banking services and provide access to loans, deposits, savings certificates, and other services.
Egypt Post offices have also expanded nationwide and have introduced new services such as allowing customers to make large-value deposits.
“Financial inclusion has also been supported by the conditional cash-transfer programmes Takaful and Karama [Solidarity and Dignity], under which beneficiaries receive Meeza cards to collect their entitlements. In addition, the Nasser Social Bank and the Agricultural Bank of Egypt, already present in many villages, have played a role in offering financial services,” al-Damati said.
The role of the InstaPay application has also been important. This enables people to transfer money and make online payments for a wide range of services, such as paying electricity, gas, and telephone bills, she said, adding that it also allowed people to save on time previously spent lining up in queues.
Awareness campaigns about financial inclusion across different social segments have greatly contributed to its growth, she noted, stating that the widespread use of mobile phones has also played a role, with almost every person now owning a device and making it easier to transfer money directly from phones.
Another factor is the state’s decision to issue ID cards to people at the age of 15 instead of 18, said Ali Al-Idrisi, a professor of economics at the City of Culture and Science and a member of the Egyptian Economic Society.
This has helped young people to open bank accounts early on. The younger generation, he added, is already accustomed to using bank cards and digital financial tools, and this has further supported financial inclusion.
Al-Idrisi told the Weekly that the pensions and social insurance system has also had an impact on financial inclusion. Some 11.5 million retirees and social security beneficiaries receive their pensions or other payments through bank accounts, Meeza cards, or mobile wallets, he noted.
Gamal Awad, head of the National Social Insurance Authority (NSIA), said that in 2022 there were 9.5 million pension recipients, of whom only 3.5 million had bank accounts. At present, all 9.5 million beneficiaries have been integrated into the banking system through bank and postal accounts and Meeza cards, with the option of receiving their pensions via mobile wallets.
Pensioners can also access a host of online services, such as checking their insurance numbers and reviewing pension details through the NSIA website, he noted.
He said that many pensioners are proficient in using the Internet and mobile phones, while those less familiar with digital tools are supported by their children or grandchildren in completing transactions.
Moreover, state employees, along with private-sector workers, receive their salaries through their bank accounts, which has further contributed to the spread of financial inclusion, Al-Idrisi said.
Indicators have showed an increase in financial inclusion among women, reaching 70 per cent in June 2025 compared to 68.8 per cent in December 2024. According to Al-Damati, this rise is mainly due to the fact that women are often responsible for purchasing household needs.
She added, however, that illiteracy remains one of the main barriers to financial inclusion, including among women. “Illiteracy prevents many people from using mobile phones and bank cards. The more we combat illiteracy, the stronger our ability to advance financial inclusion will be,” she said.
Al-Idrisi agreed, saying that many people need instruction in financial literacy because they are still unfamiliar with the differences between current and savings accounts or between debit and credit cards. Moreover, banking fees, such as charges for e-payments and account services, are also an obstacle hindering wider financial inclusion.
Challenges also remain in the payment system itself. Under Cabinet Decree 18/2019, since September 2021 all government dues and bills exceeding LE500 must be paid electronically via bank credit or debit cards or accounts or prepaid cards such as Meeza cards.
Meeza is a prepaid card launched by the government to expand electronic payment channels and the movement towards digital transformation.
However, salary cards linked to payroll systems are not accepted at government offices where people go to complete transactions or process paperwork.
Some people have taken advantage of the situation, since outside some government buildings people with debit cards may be seen offering to make payments on behalf of others in exchange for cash plus a commission of often no less than LE100.
“I only had my salary card, but I was told it wasn’t valid because it wasn’t a Meeza card,” said Cairo resident Maha Ali. “I had no choice but to accept one of those offers and pay a LE100 fee.”
One of the cardholders providing this service explained that “LE100 is nothing compared to the transport costs people would have to pay if they had to return home without getting their work done.”
“The number of people asking for this service has dropped, however. I used to get 20 requests a day, but at present it’s barely five at best,” he said.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 11 September, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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