Egypt Opens Licensing Door for "Digital Banks"

  • Cairo, Egypt
  • 14 July 2023
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Egyptian businessperson Naguib Sawiris plans to apply for a license for a digital bank in Egypt after its licenses were approved for the first time in the country. He indicated that he would apply for a digital bank license after the Central Bank of Egypt approved the rules for licensing digital banks.

Seven banks operating in Egypt had previously applied for "digital licenses," including two large government banks, the National Bank and Banque Misr. However, these banks will be required to reapply for the license following the issuance of the new regulations.

According to the Central Bank, the licensing requirements for digital banks include that the issued and paid-up capital should not be less than two billion pounds (about $ 65 million) in the case of practicing the business of all banks except for financing large companies. With the possibility of financing these companies provided that the capital is increased to 4 billion pounds (about 130 million dollars), as well as that the largest shareholder is a financial institution with a previous business in similar activities at a rate of not less than 30% of the total capital value.

Source (Al-Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper, Edited)

 

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