Visa Inc. has signed Sunday three milestone partnerships at Cairo ICT 2016 that seek to increase the adoption and acceptance of electronic payments in Egypt. Visa has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce (FEDCOC) to encourage the acceptance of card and other electronic payments by cash-intensive small- and medium-sized merchants in Egypt. Stephen Kehoe, senior vice president of global financial inclusion at Visa, said that Egypt's economy can truly grow through greater acceptance of electronic payments, especially by owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises, who remain one of the largest contributors to the country's GDP. He added that a Visa-commissioned study showed that fewer than 10 percent of SME merchants in the developing world accept digital payments while interacting with 4.5 billion customers every day. "By leveraging the widespread reach of FEDCOC, we will campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of digital payment tools and enable Egyptian merchants to contribute to the global efforts of financial inclusion," Kehoe said. Visa has also signed an agreement with the Egyptian postal authority - Egypt Post to embark on an ambitious journey to equip 6 million Egyptians with payment tools, in addition to 3 million pensioners. The cooperation includes capacity building for Egypt Post employees and financial literacy for customers. Tarek Elhousseiny, general manager of Visa for North Africa and Levant, said that Visa also signed a joint initiative with the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA), the IT arm of the Egyptian Ministry of Communications. The initiative will focus on supporting fintech i.e. financial technology) startups and providing them the digital infrastructure and knowledge to drive financial inclusion via technology payments platforms. He added that the IT and fintech entrepreneurs represent the future of Egypt and its immense growth potential. "By offering IT SMEs the knowledge and tools that we have to help grow their business, Visa will be contributing to raising the investment interest and efficiency levels for this promising sector and in turn, foster financial inclusion for everyone in the nation," Elhousseiny said. At Cairo ICT 2016, Visa will be showcasing mVisa, a secure and globally used mobile service, in order to promote the use of mobile payments and offer visitors a chance to accustom themselves with its user-friendly and convenient operability. The company plans to launch mVisa in Egypt in 2017.
