The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) will this year launch a full-fledged instant payment module, after finalizing regulations, CBE Deputy Governor Rami Aboul Naga revealed.
It will also introduce a soft point of sale (POS) system that allows the use of mobile phones as POS,
The move comes as part of the central bank’s strategy to accelerate digital transformation and investments in the banking system, the Deputy Governor said during a recent webinar organised by the British Egyptian Business Association (BEBA) titled “A Brave New World: Digitalisation of the Banking System.”
Cryptocurrency
The deputy governor highlighted the reasons behind the CBE’s warnings issued last month and earlier in January 2018 against trading cryptocurrencies, despite increased institutional demand with some companies like Tesla heavily investing in bitcoin and accepting it as a means of payment.
“The concern and the warning did not emerge because we disregarded the cryptocurrency. On the contrary, we are following it, and we are onboarding very young talents at the central bank to understand these kinds of technologies and how we would best address them,” Aboul Naga said in reference to cryptocurrency and blockchain.
Aboul Naga further explained that these warnings are based on the fact that crypto is associated with high risk and that many investors are seemingly not aware of capital risk exposures, pointing to how cryptocurrencies are not backed by any tangible assets or issued by central banks or official central authorities, alongside the anonymity of its users.
“We are not, in any way, against using the technology itself. We have just learned that some trends can be destructive and could lead to significant economic losses to users, who might not be fully aware of what they get themselves in.”
Furthermore, the deputy governor emphasised that the CBE embraces all technological trends but it holds the responsibility of raising more awareness about it as a regulator.
“We have to be very cautious and deliberate about everything we do and say. In developed central banks, a word can really change and swing markets across the board. That is the same as in our case.”
