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The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has announced the launch of a new banking feature, which will allow customers to receive remittances in real time via the country’s instant payment network (IPN).
Last week, the CBE said it has granted approval to several commercial banks to begin offering the new feature to customers.
The move will allow banks to credit remittance payments to customer accounts instantly via the IPN — a real-time payment system that settles transactions 24/7.
The CBE said the move aligns with its efforts to enhance the country’s payments infrastructure, promote digital transformation and contribute towards a “less-cash” society.
“This new feature represents a significant milestone in the evolution of the instant payment network, which is anticipated to bolster customers’ reliance on digital financial services in their daily transactions,” it said.
Egypt is a major market for remittances, consistently ranking among the top ten countries receiving the highest volume of remittances.
In 2023, according to the World Bank, Egypt was the ninth largest recipient of remittances worldwide, receiving $20bn in total, mainly from migrant workers in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and the US.
The IPN, which launched in March 2022, has seen rapid adoption, helped by platforms such as the InstaPay app.
Developed by the Egyptian Banks Company, the technology arm of the CBE, the launch of the app coincided with the launch of the IPN.
It now has more than 11.5m registered users and is expected to hit EGP2.7trn ($53bn) in transaction volume by the end of 2024.
