Egypt to decide next year whether to join the global rush to digital currencies: Feasibility studies for Egypt's digital currency are expected to be completed next year by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Ehab Nasr, assistant sub governor for payment systems and business technology, told Al Mal. Nasr said an undisclosed international organization has been working with the CBE on the study, which will assess the technical, regulatory and legislative requirements necessary to set up a digital currency. It is still not clear whether the proposed currency would be used only in inter-bank transactions or made available for public use.

Background: As we highlighted last week, central banks across the world are grappling with the rising interest in digital currencies as a medium of exchange, and some are working to establish their own. Hussein first hinted back in October 2018 that the CBE was one of the banks looking to launch its own digital currency, stating a few months later that the initiative was part of plans to move towards a cashless society.