On 19th of April 2019, President Abdel Fatah El-SISI signed Law
No. 18 of 2019 mandating the use of cashless payment by public and
private entities (the "Law").
Cash transaction is the primary payment mechanism in Egypt. This
leads to ineffective allocation of resources, increased transaction
costs and the inadequate and slow expansion of financial services.
Transformation to a cashless economy, especially in developing
countries, results in increasing the efficiency of economic, fiscal
and monetary policies, and supports the economic growth.
"Cashless means of payment" is broadly defined in the
Law to include any payment method which results in adding money to
the bank account of the beneficiary, such as deposits, transfers
and debit and credit cards. It also includes payment through mobile
phones or other means to be decided by the Central Bank of
Egypt.
