Khalid Hegazi, director of the External and Government Relations division at Vodafone Egypt, recently stated that the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) requested that his company activate its mobile phone cash transfer application. He added that the company was still reviewing the specific conditions and measures that needed to be taken to activate the service, which would not be available for at least another three months. He went on to say that agreements had been signed with the Housing and Development Bank allowing individual account users to use the same network both in and outside of Egypt. An official within the Central Bank stated that so far no amendments had been made to laws passed by the Bank regarding the transfer of cash via mobile phones. Such laws were set, he said, adding that the app service would not apply to companies and banks seeking to transfer monies stipulated through contracts. Final changes made to cash transfer laws stipulated that the daily cash withdrawal limit should be lowered from EGP 5,000 to EGP 3,000 for the app, in addition to lowering the maximum balance allowed for accounts from which money was withdrawn from EGP 20,000 to EGP 5,000. This last move was made in an attempt to decrease the risks involved in using the service, in addition to allowing time for the company to test the product to ensure its security and future success.
