Egypt's mobile wallet penetration to reach 50% in 2025

Egypt, the highest gross domestic product (GDP) in North Africa and the third largest in the Middle East, is accelerating its digital transformation to position itself as a leader in the region along with Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Egyptian government introduced several initiatives such as developing its information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, fostering digital inclusion, embracing innovation, safeguarding cybersecurity, and promoting Egypt's position as a regional pioneer. In line with Egypt's 2030 vision, the country aims to enhance the digital ecosystem and pave the way toward increasing financial inclusion.

Since the global health outbreak, the country has witnessed a huge transition towards a cashless and frictionless society by promoting digital payments and the use of e-wallets. As per the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE), the financial inclusion rate increased from 17.1 million adults in 2016 to 36.8 million adults in 2021 at a growth rate of 115% over five years. Moreover, in March 2022, CBE launched the Instant Payment Network and InstaPay mobile application, allowing users to process e-fund transfers instantly and seamlessly.

The adoption of new technologies for e-commerce and fintech has supported the growth of payment gateway solutions such as Fawry, PayMob and Vapulus, and transformed the financial and digital landscape of Egypt.

Mobile wallets have witnessed a major increase in Egypt. E-wallets have increased by 27% year-on-year (YoY) to 25 million in 2021 and are expected to reach 57.9 million in 2025. Mobile wallet penetration is expected to reach 50.5% in 2025 from 20.3% in 2020. Moreover, mobile wallet transaction volume is expected to reach 3.3 billion in 2025 from 1.5 billion in 2020 and mobile wallet transaction value is expected to reach $36.2 billion in 2025 from $21.8 billion in 2020. Fawry launched its mobile payments app, myFawry, which offers bill payments including mobile recharge, mobile and internet bills, utilities, digital content subscriptions, and donations. myFawry is dominating e-wallets in the country with a market share of 60%. Recently, Egyptian banks have launched e-wallets such as CIB Smart Wallet, QNB Wallet, ALEX Bank Ma7fazty, and NBE Phone Cash.

In January 2022, the CBE launched a new platform to manage mobile wallets electronically. Through this platform, users can inquire about mobile wallets registered with their mobile numbers as well as unsubscribe from the wallet for free without having to visit the branch of the service provider. In June 2022, Egypt’s Tanmeyah, a financing company, collaborated with myFawry to facilitate the electronic collection process in the region, which expands its electronic payment network to facilitate existing and potential customers. On the other hand, it was announced in August 2022 that ADIB Egypt – an Islamic bank and a Sharia-compliant bank in Egypt, partnered with SimpliFi – a card-as-a-service (CaaS) platform for the banking and fintech industries in MENA and Pakistan to help advance the digitisation of payments for companies in Egypt. The partnership demonstrates both entities’ commitment to constant innovation by introducing unparalleled services and solutions to the banking and fintech industries in Egypt.

Egypt is expected to be the largest mobile payments market in the Middle East and is projected to double in size by 2025.