Groupe Spéciale Mobile Association (GSMA) aims to launch a cooperation initiative among Arab and African countries to introduce inter-countries mobile financial services through telecommunication network operators, said Amr Hashem, the executive board member of GSMA in Middle East and North Africa (MENA). He pointed out that the association has recently held a meeting with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), 19 banks operating in Egypt, the country's four mobile operators, and the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) to discuss this matter. Hashem revealed the recommendations resulting from the meeting, including activating digital wallets without the need to visit mobile operator branches, through SMS for small transactions, in addition to activating digital identity which would allow recognising citizens and helping them manage their personal accounts through their mobile phones without the need for the "Security Token" devices for bank account management. According to a recent study, the average world transactions stood at $50-80 per person, with 12% transaction costs through traditional channels. This is why a large proportion of citizens resort to informal channels to transfer their money. He noted that 5% of the people in Sub-Saharan Africa region rely on mobile money transactions. Hashem praised Egypt's new E-Payment Law which would be the best way to encourage the transformation towards a cashless society. He estimated the annual damaged cash in Egypt at 2-3% of the gross national product (GNP). By more digitisation, this rate is expected to drop. He attributed this to mobile companies' ability to deal with large numbers of users with less risks. Hashem pointed out that the reliance on telecommunication technologies has allowed a new kind of jobs through micro loans, giving Kenya as an example, as it provides loans through SMS that saves $200-300 with daily interest. These loans have provided liquidity for traders to buy daily products and return loans on the same day. Furthermore, he spoke about the digital banking experience in Egypt which started recently, noting that it started across the world five years ago, which explains the current trend toward relying on technology in financial services. He addressed the results of a study prepared by McKinsey & Company which showed that developing countries may largely benefit from developed countries in the field of financial technology and electronic payments. Moreover, Hashem pointed out that the Supreme Council of Payments, headed by President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, is one of the most important experiences that demonstrates the success of the CBE. He added that Egypt, Ethiopia and Nigeria are among the most important African countries that have achieved success in the field of mobile payments, with 110 million users. He said that the penetration rate of mobile services compared to the population in Egypt reached more than 80% in 2018, while the number of bank account owners is estimated at 12 million people out of 70 million people over the age of 15. He discussed the GSMA's recent report on using mobile phones in electronic payments, saying that he discussed the GSMA's recent report on using mobile phones in electronic payments in 2018, saying that there were over 866m mobile financial services accounts registered across 90 countries. That is a 20% increase over 2017, suggesting that mobile money is rapidly gaining attraction as financial services continue to go digital and smartphones get into the hands and pockets of more users around the world. That all add up to a lot of money changing hands, too, with the GSMA's report estimating that the mobile money industry processed $1.3bn in transactions per day during 2018, and each user makes transactions of $206 daily, noting that 54% of the citizens in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, and Senegal have mobile money accounts. The GSMA includes 800 mobile operators worldwide. Its board of directors includes 25 members of the largest companies in terms of the number of subscribers. From the Arab region, it includes STC and Etisalat Group. Noteworthy, the GSMA has started the so-called ‘communication for development', relying mainly on the goals of sustainable development approved by the UN, such as programmes to allow women to access telecommunication services, and deliver utilities to remote areas, such as electricity and water.
