Visa partners with Egyptian Banks Company

As per the information detailed in the press release, Visa announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with EBC in collaboration with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). Through this strategic alliance, the two companies aim to enhance instant payments and simplify the reception of international remittances from Egyptians living abroad by leveraging Visa’s digital financial services and knowledge and the technological infrastructure managed by EBC. By joining forces, Visa and EBC intend to introduce solutions for electronic payment services, and digital wallets, among others.

The press release details that the MoU established a framework for the partnership between both entities, with two projects intended to enhance and streamline international transfers for Egyptian expatriates. Within the first project, Visa and EBC propose the addition of a service to the InstaPay application, which allows customers to initiate transfers from Visa-linked accounts outside Egypt, with funds being deposited into registered customers’ accounts or transferred to other users via the Insta Payment Network (IPN). Additionally, the second project sees the two companies partnering with banks and financial institutions to support transfers to beneficiaries in Egypt leveraging IPN’s phone number or username directory.

According to Visa’s officials, as remittances from Egyptians living abroad have a considerable role in the national income and foreign currency inflow, as well as in providing support to families in the country, the two companies, together with the CBE, aim to unlock the potential of the region’s payment ecosystem. Furthermore, Visa and EBC are working with the CBE to advance financial inclusion through the digitisation of payments in Egypt. The collaboration is set to allow the Egyptian market to benefit from Visa’s global payment strategy, share market knowledge, and access technological solutions.

Considering that, since its launch in March 2022, the IPN supported by the InstaPay application facilitate financial inclusion rates, the application enables customers within Egypt to make instant transfers to bank accounts, cards, and mobile wallets. Representatives from EBC underlined that the collaboration with Visa falls in line with the vision of the CBE which encourages leveraging digital improvement opportunities for the region’s economic expansion. Also, the alliance intends to drive the development of cross-border digital payments, while expanding the user base of the InstaPay application beyond Egypt with Visa’s international presence.

Moreover, the collaboration is set to improve user experience and extend the suite of services provided by using Visa’s network while relying on the capabilities of EBC’s InstaPay application. The partnership between Visa and EBC aligns with the strategy of CBE and the Egyptian government to assist and facilitate incoming remittances from expatriates, specifically in the Gulf and Arab Levant countries.

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