CAIRO: Getting Egyptians to make the move online has proven difficult and frustrating for many companies, but Fawry, the country's Electronic Bill Payment and Presentment (EBPP) network announced on Tuesday that it has seen over 400,000 customers in the past 6 months. Fawry launched in March and hopes to make banking easier in Egypt, especially among the Internet savvy youth. Mahmoud Reda, an investment banker and analyst in Egypt, told Bikya Masr that the move toward online activities is growing in the country. “The report Tuesday shows that these kind of things, which only a few years ago would have been unthinkable are really making in roads into the country, so that is exciting,” said Reda. According to a Fawry press statement, customers completed some 500,000 transactions through their different networks, via banks directly, ATMs or bill payment and mobile top-up online. “The huge customer response reflects Egyptians' increasing trust and reliance on Fawry network channels to pay various bills,” the statement read. “Customers have realized the benefits of using the Fawry network, which provides them with a modern, secure and convenient method to view and pay their bills through a single outlet, thereby saving time and effort.” It added that customers are able to pay their bills through these networks in an effort to eliminate costs and “time.” Ashraf Sabry, CEO of Fawry, said Fawry “are delighted at the growth in the number of people turning to Fawry to pay their bills. In fact, the number of Fawry network users is increasing monthly at a rate of over 100%. All of us at Fawry are pleased with this achievement, and expect even better growth as we continuously work on expanding the variety of bills and services that people can pay and access through our network. Fawry is busy signing deals with companies and institutions in various sectors while at the same time implementing its own plans to expand the network and develop safe and convenient payment choices across Egypt.” BM
