The Central Bank has agreed to issue a license allowing for mobile contactless payments, describing it as a leap in facilitating electronic financial transactions for merchants.
Who is affected🤷: The new service would allow smartphones to become electronic points of sale without any additional fees. Merchants would need to download a mobile application that links to his/her bank accounts. Sales made by the merchant would quickly & securely be transferred to them. The license is advantageous in several ways as it would significantly reduce the costs associated with renting or buying traditional e-payments devices, allow smaller merchants to grow, & ease the acceptance of payments for daily ordering services.
Why is this important🤔: The decision comes in light of the Egyptian government’s strategy to shift towards a more digital society, one that is less dependent on physical banknotes in support of the financial inclusion strategy.