The number of credit cards at banks operating in the Egyptian market increased to about 2.813m cards at the end of December 2015, compared to 2.575m cards in June 2015, an increase of 238,000 cards, according to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE).
The CBE said in a report last week that the largest five banks operating in the Egyptian market held about 40.03% of the total number of cards, while the largest 10 banks acquired 49.78% of them.
The National Bank of Egypt (NBE), the largest bank operating in Egypt, currently manages about 760,000 credit cards, and it is targeting to increase that number to 1m cards over the next two fiscal years, according to head of retail at NBE, Alaa Farouk.
According to the CBE’s report, the number of debit cards at banks declined to 15.812m in December 2015, compared to 16.243m cards in June 2015, a decline of 450,000 cards.
The largest five banks acquired about 41.523% of the total number of debit cards, while the largest 10 banks acquired 71.538% of them.
For the first time, the CBE revealed in its report the number of prepaid cards issued by banks operating in the local market, totaling approximately 7.625m cards in December 2015. Approximately 83.381% of which are acquired by the largest five banks, and 90.619% of which are acquired by the largest 10 banks.
The CBE added in its report that the bank had 8,431 ATMs at the close of December 2015, compared to 7,855 ATMs in June 2015, an increase of 576 ATMs.
The largest five banks operate about 63.788% of these ATMs, while the largest 10 banks operate 79.812% of them.
The CBE’s report showed that the number of the electronic points of sale (POS) in the Egyptian market increased to 59,287 devices in December 2015, compared to about 55,876 devices in June 2015, an increase of 3,420 devices.
According to the CBE, 100% of these devices are affiliated to the top ten banks, while the largest five banks operate 97.078% of them.
The report indicated that the number of employees in the banking sector increased in December 2015 to about 108,261, compared to about 106,243 in June 2015.
According to the CBE, about 42,725 workers are employed at the largest five banks in Egypt, 39.464% of the total number of workers in the sector, while about 60,208 workers are employed in the largest 10 banks, an estimated 55.613% of the number of workers in the sector.
