Egypt launches initiative to contain informal economy using digital payment tools

CAIRO – 3 January 2021: The Financial Regulatory Authority announced Sunday the launch of the "Digital Financial Inclusion 2021" initiative, with the aim of completing the efforts made to activate the cashless payment system and raise the rates of financial inclusion, and containing the informal economy in Egypt by using digital payment tools in non-banking financial activities, especially in micro-enterprises.

The authority added In a statement, Sunday, that this initiative comes within the framework of facilitating the compliance of microenterprise finance agencies and their project owners to comply with the requirements of Law No. (18) of 2019 regulating the "use of cashless payment methods."

It explained that Article No. (3) of the law and the decisions issued by the authority obligated all parties that provide cash financing - including microfinance companies and associations - to reconcile their positions within a period of 6 months from the issuance of its executive regulations, which were approved on September 7, 2020.