The House CIT Committee gave a preliminary nod yesterday to a draft law that would govern the fintech space, Masrawy reports. The new law would regulate the use of fintech to deliver non-banking financial services (NBFS) in a bid to expand the sector’s beneficiaries and promote financial inclusion by granting the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) the power to license and regulate NBFS businesses and fintech startups. Under the law, the FRA would have supervisory powers over the sector to ensure companies adhere to transparency and governance standards, in addition to protecting consumer rights. The FRA had drafted and approved the bill last year.

ALSO FROM UNDER PARLIAMENT’S DOME- Parliament rubber stamps public sector salary hikes: The House of Representatives’ general assembly gave its final approval yesterday to a bill raising basic salaries for public sector employees by 13% at the start of the next fiscal year on 1 July, according to Masrawy. The decision applies equally to employees covered by the Civil Service Act and those employed outside it. The same decision also stipulates an EGP 75 minimum increase to the monthly gross salaries of civil servants whose employment is not covered by the act, who will receive annual raises at the start of the fiscal year. It also increases monthly bonuses for state officials by a minimum of EGP 175 and a maximum of EGP 400, depending on rank.