MeezaEgypt's national card scheme, mandated by the central bank for paying public sector salaries, subsidies, and pensions. That is how it reached 43.5 million cards in six years. A model of a domestic scheme rolled out through government channels that other countries could replicate.Egyptian Banks Company (EBC) (under the authority of the Central Bank of Egypt) · since 2019More than 43.5 million Meeza cards issued as of June 2025 (Central Bank of Egypt, 2025). Do not confuse this with the national total for Egyptian mobile wallets across all issuers, of which Meeza Digital is only one part: 55.5 million wallets and 1.4 billion transactions worth more than EGP 1.8 trillion as of June 2025 (Central Bank of Egypt, 2025).
Global registry · Africa & Middle East · North Africa
Egypt Payment systems
9 systems listed.
CurrencyEgyptian pound (EGP)
Domestic schemeMeeza
RegulatorCentral Bank of Egypt (CBE)
Leading payment methods
CashCards (Meeza)Telecom walletsInstaPay (A2A)
E-commerce shares
Cash · 35%Cards · 30%Wallets · 20%Account-to-account · 10%Other · 5%
Cash + InstaPay. The economy is still mostly cash-based, with cash on delivery dominating e-commerce. But InstaPay, the app for the IPN instant payment rail launched in 2022, has about 16 million users and is growing fast, driven by mobile-number aliases.
InstaPay users≈16M, ≈1.1B transactions (2025, CBE)
Fawry networkOver 370,000 acceptance points
The state is pushing for a “cashless society”: the domestic Meeza scheme, digital payroll for civil servants, fintech licenses. Outside the cities, there is still a long way to go.
IBAN · Egypt
29 characters1,276 BIC codes
- Total length
- 29 characters
- Bank code position
- 5–8
- Branch code position
- 9–12
- BBAN structure
4!n4!n17!n
Structurally valid example
EGcountry code38check digits0019bank0005branch00000000263180002account
EG38 0019 0005 0000 0000 2631 8000 2
Learn about this market. The guides and courses that cover it.
Payments in EgyptPayments in East AfricaPayments in Portuguese-speaking and southern AfricaMobile money in AfricaPayments in West and Southern AfricaPayments in the CEMAC zoneAccepting payments in AfricaAccepting payments in Egypt and the MaghrebAccepting payments in the GulfCollecting payments in Kenya and East AfricaCollecting payments in Nigeria and West AfricaPayments in Africa: the continent that reinvented mobile money
Card schemes
Instant payments
Instant Payment Network (IPN) / InstaPayEgypt’s instant rail, with InstaPay as its consumer app, addressed by IPA (Instant Payment Address), phone number, or QR code. Its growth is among the fastest in North Africa.Egyptian Banks Company (EBC) for the Central Bank of Egypt · since 2022dedicated case study in AfricaNenda’s SIIPS 2025 report (2025); exact volumes not available
InstaPay / IPN (Instant Payment Network)North Africa’s fastest-adopted instant rail: 16 million users in three years, with alias addressing (IPA). It has contributed to Egypt’s financial inclusion rate, which rose from 27.4% (2016) to 76.3% (June 2025).Egyptian Banks Company (EBC) for the Central Bank of Egypt · since 2022More than 16 million users and more than 1.1 billion transactions worth EGP 2.4 trillion as of June 2025 (Central Bank of Egypt, 2025).
Clearing and settlement
EG-ACH (Automated Clearing House)Egypt’s ACH: batches of interbank credits and debits for salaries, supplier payments, government disbursements, and pensions, extended in April 2022 to multiple currencies (US dollar and euro). It is the bulk rail overshadowed by InstaPay and Meeza, even though it carries the country’s payroll.Egyptian Banks Company (EBC) (mandated by the Central Bank of Egypt to set up and operate the automated clearing house)
Buy now, pay later
ValuEgypt’s leading installment payment provider, backed by a listed consumer finance company. That makes it a BNPL product that sits squarely within regulated credit, unlike South Africa’s interest-free pay-in-3 offerings. Its product range goes well beyond installments: cards, cash advances, personal loans, auto financing, and savings.U Consumer Finance S.A.E. (EFG Holding subsidiary operating under the Valu brand, listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX))More than 3 million customers claimed (Valu, 2026)
SymplEgypt’s second installment payment provider, with a distinctive design choice: it extends credit to holders of existing bank cards rather than through a proprietary account. Lending is therefore tied to the installed card base, not to a standalone enrollment. ⚠️ Its regulatory status with the Financial Regulatory Authority could not be confirmed against a primary source.Sympl (Egyptian fintech founded in 2021 by former Valu executives) · since 2021
Acquiring and processing
National Switch (123)Egypt’s national ATM switch, under the 123 acceptance brand: it is what makes withdrawals possible across different banks. A long-standing component of the national payment system, older than Meeza, for which it handles domestic switching.Egyptian Banks Company (EBC) (operated for the Central Bank of Egypt; the acceptance brand is “123”)
Aman (أمان)Egyptian network that collects payments and bills at branches and merchants, plus an app and an installment payment card. A direct competitor to Fawry in cash-in: in a country where cash still dominates, these physical acceptance networks are where consumers actually encounter digital payments.Aman for E-Payments (subsidiary of Raya Holding, incorporated with EGP 100 million in capital) · since 2016More than 250 branches, more than 200,000 merchants, and 150,000 connected payment terminals (Aman, official website, accessed 2026)
Other
RTGS (Egypt)Egypt’s RTGS, in Egyptian pounds, for domestic large-value payments and the interbank money market: irrevocable, final settlement in real time, with direct participation mandatory for every bank registered with the CBE. It is the settlement leg for Meeza, InstaPay, and EG-ACH.Central Bank of Egypt