Housing and Development Bank plots entry into digital banking
State-owned Housing and Development Bank is planning to apply for a digital banking license from the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), Chairman Hassan Ghanem told Masrawy. A growing number of Egyptian banks are planning entrances to the digital banking space, with the National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, Suez Canal Bank and ABC Egypt all mulling digital arms.
In related news: Non-banking financial services provider Ebtikar will launch a dedicated digital mobile wallet next year in collaboration with EG Bank, CEO Ayman El Dessouki told Hapi Journal. Ebtikar already runs the e-payments app Masary.
Meanwhile, another one of Ebtikar’s fintech firms, Bee Smart Payment Solutions, received central bank approval to facilitate electronic payments through Banque Misr, the company said in a statement cited by Masrawy.