Paper checks, sub accounts to be canceled by year-end

CAIRO – 11 October 2017: The application of the Government Fiscal Management Information System (GFMIS) will help provide precise and timely information, improving the supervision process and shorten the time and effort in preparing the final account, Mohamed Maait, Vice Minister of Finance for Treasury Affairs, said Wednesday.

Maeet said, during a seminar in Cairo University, that the usage of government paper checks will come to an end by December. Various sub accounts, of different administrative bodies, will also be closed and they will all be integrated with the Treasury Single Account (TSA) banking system at the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
He further said that the state’s current strategy aims to swiftly transform to an electronic payment system, instead of relying on paper transactions and checks, saying that infrastructure and communication networks are being upgraded to receive the new system.

The application of the GFMIS system comes as part of the Ministry of Finance's plans to boost fiscal and accountancy reform, to upgrade the performance of the public administrative units and to enhance transparency, accountability, efficiency and cost-efficiency of public services.

The GFMIS Initiative is based primarily on two significant axes. Firstly, E-payment and ATM systems are to be automated and integrated with the TSA banking system at the CBE.

The aim is to cancel all paper checks and close multiple banking accounts of the different administrative bodies, Finance Minister Amr el-Garhy said in earlier statements.
During the past years, the Finance Ministry has been planning for fiscal reform to assist with modernization of the public finance management.