CBE works on strengthening e-payment infrastructure nationwide: Assistant Subgovernor

Recent boom in electronic transactions reflects increase in awareness, says Ehab Nasr

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) works on strengthening the e-payment infrastructure in order to transform into a society less dependent on banknotes, and to achieve the independence of payment systems within Egypt, according to Ehab Nasr, the CBE Assistant Subgovernor for Payment Systems and Services.
Nasr said, during his participation in the Conference on Modern Electronic Payment Systems and Products in the Era of Digital Transformation, that the CBE is currently working on establishing a national card coding platform, in cooperation with all international partners, which aims to complete contactless transactions using a mobile phone, such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, which will cause a boom in electronic payments and provide them in an easy and secure way to citizens.
He explained that the statistics indicate an increase in citizens' awareness of the use of electronic payment channels and means, which led to a noticeable increase in those transactions and a decrease in the rates of cash transactions, which contributes to achieving the vision of the National Payments Council to transform into a society less dependent on banknotes.
He revealed that the Eid al-Adha period witnessed a boom in the value of electronic transactions and for the first time its value almost equalled cash withdrawals, as the values of electronic transactions amounted to about EGP 15bn during the holiday week, compared to EGP 20bn for cash withdrawals through ATMs, which reflects the increased awareness among citizens of the ease and security of electronic transactions.
He pointed out that the mobile phone wallet transactions witnessed a great boom that reflects the extent of the citizen's dependence on the service, as the number of transactions increased from 101 million transactions in the first half of 2021 to nearly 212 million transactions in the first half of 2022, an increase of 108%, and also the value of transactions increased from EGP 96bn to EGP 250bn, an increase of 161%.
Nasr explained that about 110.6 million purchase transactions were made through merchants' electronic points of sale (POS), and the value of these transactions amounted to EGP 108.7bn in the period from January to the end of June 2022, and the number of transactions increased by 46.5%, compared to the same period in 2021, in addition to a noticeable increase in transaction values, estimated at 48.7%, while the number of transactions reached 75.5 million transactions, with an estimated value of EGP 73.1bn during the first half of 2021.
He pointed out that about 60.3 million e-commerce purchase transactions were conducted, and the value of these transactions amounted to EGP 22.3bn in the period from January to the end of June 2022, and the number of transactions increased compared to the same period in 2021 by 34%, and transaction values achieved a remarkable increase by 70%.
He said that about 1.33 million transfer transactions were conducted through the instant payments network and the InstaPay application, and the value of these transactions amounted to EGP 6.43bn until the end of June 2022, since its launch on 22 March 2022.