CashU for e-payment solutions intends to negotiate with the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to launch a package of payment solutions, including a service to enable Egyptians abroad to pay their bills in Egypt, opening sub-accounts for children and contactless payments. Thaer M. Soliman, the chief executive of CashU, said Egypt hosts 40,000 of the service’s users, ranking second in the Middle East market.
How many people use the company’s services?
We started our services in Jordan in 2002, with 15 years of experience in e-payment solutions.
The company currently has 2.3 million users across the Middle East and Singapore. Egypt is host to 40,000 of the service’s users.
The Egyptian market accounts for 20% of the total number of users, coming second on our list and tailing Saudi Arabia in terms of numbers.
Can you detail the services that CashU provides?
CashU is a safe and fast method to pay online without using credit cards. You can shop and pay at thousands of stores and websites online by simply charging your CashU account at any nearby stores and kiosks.
The company operates in 14 countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Egypt, and Singapore. We are present in over 7,000 companies and e-commerce websites that enable e-payments, most of which are located outside the Middle East.
CashU provides its services for Facebook, Skype, PlayStation, and Yahoo among others. We are also set to begin offering our service on Apple, Amazon, and Alibaba.
Is the company cooperating with the CBE to expand the scope of e-payments?
CashU has prepared a file to present to the CBE in the first quarter of 2017. It includes all the new services we hope to apply here, including a service that enables Egyptian expats abroad to pay their bills in Egypt using our cards.
Moreover, we want to inaugurate a service for setting up subaccounts for users under 18, in addition to activating contactless services. This enables users to make secure payments at points of sale using radio-frequency identification (RFID) or near-field communication (NFC) simply by swiping their phone.
We want to form a strategic partnership with Egyptian banks to increase the services provided to our customers. Only 14% of Egyptians utilise banking services—a very limited ratio considering the market size. This would encourage banks to cooperate with telecommunication companies and e-payment service providers to transform Egypt into a financially integrated society.
Over the past two years, CashU has held workshops with a number of central banks in the Middle East to develop legislations for financial technologies.
We obtained several licences to practice e-payment services in many countries across the Middle East. Yet, we are still looking for new markets. Egypt is at the top of our potential investments, especially considering the high population and the need for our services.
We have recently contracted with Bank Albilad of Saudi Arabia to provide the latest e-payment solutions to the bank’s clients. The company is also participating in developing e-commerce and e-payments in the kingdom.
This partnership enables Bank Albilad to rely on CashU services to provide the latest payment solutions on several platforms across Saudi Arabia. These services include payment via prepaid mobile e-wallet and paying bills at a regional level.
Do you intend to cooperate with Egyptian banks in providing electronic payment solutions?
We intend to sign agreements with Egyptian banks similar to those we signed in Saudi Arabia. This would contribute to expanding the e-payment market in Egypt and attracting new clients to join banks, especially clients that conduct limited transactions ranging between $10 and $100.
How many CashU outlets are there?
We have 70,000 outlets spanning the Middle East in cooperation with partners. This includes 30,000 outlets resulting from our partnership with Fawry in Egypt.
What major contracts has CashU recently signed?
We recently signed a partnership agreement with MasterCard and Noor Bank in the UAE to enable CashU clients to obtain a prepaid MasterCard from Noor Bank. The card was given the name MAJD. It enables clients to pay for their purchases from e-commerce websites registered with MasterCard worldwide.
The virtual card can be recharged at any time and is easy to use. Through similar cards, we will target the Egyptian youth demographic and university students, particularly as young people account for a large segment in Egyptian society and are willing to accept the culture of e-payments. Our previous experience with Jordanian university students was a huge success.
