The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has instructed all banks to apply new simplified procedures for the self-employed and owners of micro-sized projects to open banking accounts as part of Egypt’s financial inclusion policy, the CBE announced on Wednesday.

CBE instructed banks to open current and savings bank accounts for owners of micro-sized projects, the self-employed, and craftsmen using only national ID without a need for documentation of income.

The central bank also instructed banks to open accounts for owners of micro-sized projects who do not have a business registration or a license to practice their activities.

Craftsmen and the self-employed will only need to submit water, electricity, or gas consumption bills, or a rental contract as proof of address for their business to open a bank account.

The CBE said that these simplified procedures come per President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi’s directives to boost financial inclusion in Egypt and to pay attention to all classes in society, particularly the craftsmen and the self-employed.

The banks will verify applicants' data through neighbours and social media accounts.

In February, the CBE obliged all banks to raise financing headed to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises from 20 percent to 25 percent of the bank's credit facilities portfolio, which is expected to pump EGP 117 billion into the sector by the end of December 2022.

In January, the CBE issued a decree allowing people above the age of 16 to open bank accounts without the consent of their parents or guardians.