The Central Bank of Egypt published its Payment Systems and Services Oversight Policy in March 2024, establishing the supervisory architecture under which payment system operators and payment service providers will be comprehensively regulated across the country's rapidly expanding digital financial ecosystem. The policy builds directly on the authority granted to the CBE under Banking Law No. 194 of 2020, which first empowered the central bank to regulate payment systems in Egypt, and provides the operational and risk-based framework upon which detailed licensing regulations are now being developed. It represents the most significant formalisation of CBE oversight in the payments sector since the 2020 law was enacted.
The March 2024 policy arrives approximately five years after Banking Law No. 194 of 2020 conferred broad supervisory powers on the CBE over Egypt's payments landscape. In the intervening period, the market for digital payments in Egypt expanded considerably, driven by government-led financial inclusion initiatives, the proliferation of mobile money platforms, and rising consumer and merchant adoption of electronic payment methods. The oversight policy was designed to bring a coherent, risk-sensitive regulatory framework to a sector that had been operating under more general guidance, providing both regulators and market participants with a clear shared reference for compliance obligations and supervisory expectations.
SCOPE OF THE SUPERVISORY FRAMEWORK
The oversight policy delineates the range of entities that fall within the CBE's regulatory perimeter, covering operators of payment systems—including interbank clearing and settlement infrastructure—alongside providers of payment services targeting retail, corporate, and cross-border channels. It establishes the principles governing the licensing process, the conditions for ongoing supervisory engagement, conduct obligations for operators, and the approach to managing systemic risk in payment infrastructure. By setting out these principles in a single policy document, the CBE has created a foundational reference that forms the basis for the more detailed regulations being developed in 2025.
The framework also addresses jurisdictional boundaries between the CBE and other Egyptian regulatory bodies whose responsibilities intersect with payments, including the Financial Regulatory Authority. By clarifying where CBE oversight begins and ends, and the conditions under which each regulator exercises primary authority, the policy is intended to reduce uncertainty for firms offering services that span multiple regulated categories. This clarity is particularly relevant for fintech operators providing embedded financial services that combine payment functions with insurance, lending, or investment products.
LICENSING REGULATIONS EXPECTED IN 2025
With the oversight policy now providing a formal supervisory foundation, the CBE is expected to develop and publish comprehensive PSO and PSP licensing regulations during the course of 2025. Industry participants have been preparing for a transition from the existing registration and approval processes to a more demanding licensing regime anticipated to impose minimum capital requirements, governance and ownership standards, operational resilience conditions, and rules on consumer protection and data handling. The specifics of these requirements are the subject of active consultation between the CBE and the sector.
The development of full licensing regulations is widely viewed as a critical step in formalising Egypt's payments infrastructure at a moment when the government has placed financial inclusion and the reduction of cash transactions at the centre of its economic modernisation agenda. Existing licensed payment operators and new market entrants are both monitoring the regulatory process closely, understanding that the final shape of the licensing framework will determine capital planning requirements, market access conditions, and competitive dynamics for years ahead. The CBE has signalled its intention to provide appropriate transition arrangements for existing operators once the final regulatory text is issued.