From 2018 to 2025, financial technology in Egypt has shifted from being a convenience to becoming an essential economic infrastructure. Started in 2020, several firms in Egypt employed digital financial tools like mobile wallets and digital payments. According to a 2024 report published by Visa titled Value of Acceptance: Understanding the Digital Payment Landscape in Egypt, 53 percent of Egyptian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) have adopted digital payments in the past two years. Additionally, 77 percent of SMEs believe that digital payments are essential to their company’s expansion. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) and Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority have expanded access to financial tools, increasing financial inclusion to 71 percent of eligible citizens by mid-2024, with growing participation from women and youth. Also, under the CBE’s strategy to make Egypt a technological hub, the number of financial services companies grew from 32 to 177 which attracted EGP 37 billion (USD 800 million) in investments between 2017 and 2022. The turning point came with the launch of the Instant Payment Network (IPN) in 2022, known as InstaPay. By linking all banks through a single compatible system, IPN eliminated the…
