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Wednesday, 25 November 2020

Central bank plans digital infrastructure company to support financial inclusion

The Central Bank of Egypt’s financial inclusion strategy seems to be moving forward after the bank yesterday set up a company to develop tech infrastructure and support digital payments, suggests a local press report. The central bank will hold a 99.9% stake in the Terra Digital Financial Infrastructure Company, and will work alongside the National Payments Council to upgrade the country’s digital infrastructure, the report says without providing further details. CBE Governor Tarek Amer said earlier this week that it is working on a new strategy to further financial inclusion, without providing details. It’s not clear how this will differ from the plan unveiled by the CBE in 2019, which centers on strengthening the bank’s regulatory and supervisory role, raising awareness on financial inclusion, and promoting fintech startups. Policymakers have been pushing financial inclusion for the past several years

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