Banque Misr plans to launch Egypt’s first digital bank during 1Q2022, the bank’s Vice Chairman Akef El Maghraby told Masrawy.

The launch date will depend on when there’s a framework in place: The Central Bank of Egypt is still working on a regulatory framework governing digital banks. We were originally expecting an announcement in July but sources tell Masrawy that central bank officials hope to have the rules in place before the end of 2021.

Banque Misr isn’t the only bank planning to go digital: National Bank of Egypt, Emirates NBD, QNB Al Ahli and Bank ABC have also applied to the central bank for a digital banking license.

Visa is on board: Misr Digital Innovation (MDI), a subsidiary set up last year to launch the bank, has signed a seven-year partnership agreement with Visa, that will see it issue Visa-branded cards, use its APIs, and work with it on marketing and design, it announced in a statement (pdf) yesterday. Visa will also provide licensing, implementation and technical support to MDI.

As is Atos: The French IT firm agreed in February to build the digital platform that will be used by the bank’s customers.