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Thursday, 22 April 2021

CBE raises withdrawal + transfer limits from mobile wallets

SMART POLICY- Mobile wallet users can now borrow, withdraw, and transfer larger sums per day under new regulations (pdf) released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). Individual users can apply for one-year finance of up to EGP 5k, while informal micro enterprises and self-employed craftsmen can borrow up to EGP 10k. The ceiling for licensed microenterprises is now EGP 15k. These facilities, which could be provided in real time, should be repaid over one year on a predetermined payment schedule. Banks will be able to allow clients to request finance through ATMs, e-wallet applications, or messaging channels such as unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) and interactive voice response (IVR) messaging.

New daily withdrawal + transfer limits: The regulations also raise the daily limits for mobile wallet users’ withdrawals and transfers to EGP 30k for individuals and informal micro enterprises or self-employed craftsmen, with the monthly limit set for these users set at EGP 100k. Licensed microenterprises can now withdraw or transfer up to EGP 40k per day, or EGP 200k per month.

The new limits come a few days after the CBE granted mobile wallet users access to real-time loan and saving services, while allowing funds to be transferred between mobile wallets and bank accounts. The CBE also instructed banks to determine potential borrowers’ creditworthiness based on “behavioral evaluations” to ease lending for those who don’t have credit histories or any prior records with the traditional banking system.

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