Online payment service PayFort announced the launch of its pay@store service in Egypt, stating that the service will bring the online shopping benefits to Egyptians without bank accounts. The company added that the service will help boost Egypt's e-commerce industry. Explaining how the service works, PayFort mentioned that online buyers can pick pay@store as their payment methods. Buyer will then receive a payment voucher, which will contain information about the purchased products, their prices, merchants' names, and the expiry date. Payments can then be competed through Fawry's points of sales or ATMs of the National Bank of Egypt, HSBC, Blom Bank, Banque Misr, Bank Audi, or the Arab African International Bank. Payments can also be made via the e-wallet of the National Bank of Egypt. The company further explained its service, saying: ".Pay@store will store the information on the payment voucher, which will be used to verify its validity when the payment is being executed. Once payment is made, the order will then be shipped to customer's home, or in the case of virtual products and services such as air ticket and software purchases, the customer will receive confirmation" PayFort stated that the percentage of citizens in Egypt with bank accounts doesn't exceed 9%, compared to the 50% global average and the 18% average in the Arab world. "Though very low in credit and debit card penetration, Egypt remains a vibrant market for e-commerce with a 40% internet penetration rate, totalling approximately 38 million internet users, 7% of which shop and pay online." Managing director of PayFort Omar Soudodi said that the service aims to provide innovative solutions to assist Arabs with online buying. "With pay@store, unbanked users who don't have credit or debit cards will be able to take advantage of the benefits associated with online shopping — not least of all comfort and competitive prices — as they can now access the variety of products and services available in Egypt through leading merchants and service providers registered with PayFort network," Soudodi added. The company mentioned that the high number of mobile internet users in Egypt, close to 40%, and with the majority of the population under the age of 30, online payment is expected to "grow exponentially in the years to come". "Mobile internet adoption is also becoming increasingly accessible and popular in Egypt, contributing to a surge of start-ups in the past few years as more businesses try to capture online customers," PayFort said.
