InstaPay is the first mobile application licensed by the CBE as a payment service provider via the National Instant Payment Network.
The Egyptian Banks Company, the CBE’s technological arm, developed the Instant Payment Network and InstaPay application under the guidance of the CBE and was assisted by leading global consulting firms specialised in payment networks and application security.
The new system adopts stringent security systems to ensure the highest protection for data and transactions, with end-to-end encryption where data storage is restricted.
The CBE said that the action comes in line with the visionary strategy of the National Payments Council, chaired by Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi with the purpose of fostering the transformation into a digital economy, and in fulfilment of the CBE’s progressive digitisation ambitions.
The launching event was attended by CBE governor Tarek Amer and other CBE officials, in addition to ambassadors of different countries and leaders of prominent international payment companies.
“The launch of the new Instant Payment Network marks a key milestone on our roadmap for the national payment landscape. Our goal is to ensure the sovereignty of payments in Egypt, promote the National Payments Council’s vision of transforming the society towards less dependency on banknotes, and enabling convenient, secure and affordable digital financial transactions for all Egyptians,” said Amer.
Rami Abulnaga, the CBE’s deputy governor, noted that the Instant Payment Network embraces the latest interbank operating technologies, connecting all banking systems via a top-notch digital infrastructure, designed to enable integration with FinTech companies, creating tremendous opportunities for delivering innovative payment solutions addressing the unique needs of various segments.
“Supported with such potential, Egypt is indeed well positioned among the pioneering nations in E-Banking and Financial Services,” he added.
Amany Shams Eldin, the CBE’s first sub-governor for banking Operations and payment systems, expounded that the network is a real embodiment of the progressive steps to join the leading nations in e-payments and financial e-services.
“The network represents the first execution of open banking transactions in Egypt, pioneering the deployment of application programming interfaces (APIs) for managing bank accounts in real time. The national accomplishment comes in fulfilment of the CBE’s progressive endeavours to provide a state-of-the-art infrastructure for the banking sector, allowing banked customers to manage all their bank accounts using one convenient interface, in addition to offering the ability of instant financial transfers either on weekdays or during official holidays,” she further added.
The CBE’s assistant sub-governor for banking operations and payment systems Ehab Nasr indicated that the InstaPay application offers an exceptional payment experience via mobile phones, which allows the customer to transfer funds instantly between accounts at any of the member banks.
Moreover, it allows transfers between bank accounts and Meeza cards, of which there are a total of 22 million, in addition to over 27 million mobile wallets, according to Nasr.
He also clarified that users can obtain customer support directly through the app, or by calling the customer service number 15989, or otherwise through their account holding bank.
The CBE has waived the transaction fees via the new app through June.
Users can download the app from either Android or iOS app stores.
The CBE said that it plans to extend the Instant Payment Network to cover all banks operating in Egypt.
Currently, the network member banks are the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Commercial International Bank, ALEXBANK, QNB Al Ahli, Arab Bank, Arab African International Bank, Banque du Caire, Egyptian Gulf Bank, and Société Arabe Internationale de Banque.
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