E-Payment, Collection Services in Egypt Rise io EGP 2,5 Tln in 1st 11 Months of FY23/24

The value of e-payment and collection services in Egypt grew by 19 percent to EGP 2.5 trillion during the first 11 months of the current FY2023/2024, which ends on 30 June, up from EGP 2.1 trillion during the corresponding period of the previous FY2022/2023, Egypt’s Minister of Finance Mohamed Maait said in a statement.

Maait also announced that the e-payment service for government employees’ payrolls grew in the same period by 24 percent to reach EGP 299.4 billion, up from EGP 242.2 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Moreover, the value of the e-payment service for suppliers increased by 14 percent to post EGP 1.1 trillion, up from about EGP 989.8 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.

Maait also pointed out that the electronic customs collections witnessed a growth of 38 percent with a value of EGP 284.3 billion from July 2023 to May 2024, compared to about EGP 205.8 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.

He noted that there is stability in the electronic payment of taxes through multiple collection channels, as the value of electronic tax collection transactions reached about EGP 613.1 billion, a growth rate of 16 percent, compared to the same period of the previous fiscal year.

“There has also been a significant increase in the rates of citizens' interest in paying government dues electronically through the "Citizens' Payment" in the banking sector by 38 percent, where the value of the collection service through the "Citizens' Payment” service in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year reached EGP 61.4 billion, compared to about EGP 44.4 billion.

The value of the collection service through government electronic collection machines "GPOS" also increased by 31 percent, reaching EGP 60.8 billion, compared to EGP 46.3 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal year. Mohamed Fouad, the head of the Electronic Payment and Collection Unit at the Ministry of Finance, stated that the value of collections through the government's online payment gateway during the period from July 2023 to May 2024 witnessed a growth of 78 percent, reaching over EGP 1 billion, compared to EGP 600 million during the same period of the previous fiscal year.

There has also been a significant expansion in electronic collection services through integrated collection companies connected to the government's Electronic Payment and Collection Centre, achieving a 55 percent increase, with their government collections reaching around EGP 1.9 billion, compared to EGP 1.2 billion during the same period of the previous fiscal year.

“Due to the rapid technological developments, especially in the field of financial technology, and as part of monitoring and controlling the operation of all digital transformation systems at the ministry, there is a continuous review of the governance procedures for these systems, with the addition of new procedures to enhance the governance of the linkage and integration between the government's Electronic Payment and Collection Centre, the electronic collection system, the Government Financial Management Information System (GFMIS), and the electronic invoicing system”, Fouad explained.

He also noted that they are following up on the work of the accounting units to increase the auditing of the distribution of collected revenues to the designated types and items.

Egypt adopts an inclusive strategy for financial inclusion across the country. Egypt’s Financial Inclusion Strategy (2022 - 2025), run by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), is the first initiative of its kind in Egypt that measures the level of financial inclusion in terms of access, usage and quality of financial services with the view of setting targets and a vision for formulating and designing a financial inclusion strategy and determining implementation priorities.

The key objectives of this strategy are as follows: Consumer protection and building consumers’ trust in the banking sector.

** Expanding financial literacy, increasing the financial capabilities of consumers and MSMEs and building the capacity of bank employees and policy-makers on the concepts of financial inclusion.

** Encouraging entrepreneurship and start-ups by providing non-financial services and availing a comprehensive and efficient infrastructure.

** Providing and facilitating MSMEs’/ startups’ access to financial services and encouraging their integration into the formal sector.

** Expanding the use of digital financial services. ** Continuing to enable the Financial Technology and Digital Financial Infrastructure.

** Expanding and anchoring banking services and stimulating savings.

** Availing the access and usage of financial services (banking and non-banking) for all segments of society, according to customers’ needs.

**Empowering the ecosystem to achieve sustainable growth in the financial sector.