The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has released the core set of financial inclusion indicators for 2023, showing a remarkable increase in the financial inclusion rates in Egypt. Out of 66.4 million adults (16 years and above), around 46.9 million own transactional accounts – whether bank accounts, Egypt Post accounts, mobile wallets, or prepaid cards. This means that the financial inclusion rate has risen to 70.7% in 2023, compared to 64.8% in 2022, and 25.8% in 2016.
Egypt’s financial inclusion growth rate has been one of the best among peer countries in the past years.
The growth rate reflects the significant rise in the number of citizens who benefit from financial services that meet their needs, such as saving, transferring, receiving money, and paying bills. These services also reduce the cost and time required for financial transactions and can be accessed at any time and from any place, which improves the welfare and living conditions of citizens.
The indicators also showed a remarkable improvement in the financial inclusion of women, reaching 20.3 million women out of a total of 32.3 million in 2023, with a growth rate of 244% since 2016, and an inclusion rate of 62.7%.
The financial inclusion rate of youth (aged 16 to 35), who make up 36.6 million citizens, reached 51.5%, with a growth rate of 48.5% from 2020 to 2023.
The remarkable increase in financial inclusion rates is supported by the fruitful collaboration of all ministries and authorities on the national level, through their active participation in many joint initiatives and events that target different customer segments. This includes the participation of the CBE in the first phase of the presidential initiative “Decent Life” by directing banks to be present in many villages, promoting banking products and services, enabling the financial infrastructure, and conducting financial awareness activities.
To create an enabling environment that encourages dealing with the banking sector, the CBE has issued several regulations to overcome the obstacles facing all segments of society to access financial services that suit their needs, such as allowing the opening of accounts for young people from the age of 16, facilitating the opening of “Economic Activity Account” for handicraftsmen, and “Financial Inclusion Account” for other citizens using only their National ID.
Moreover, the six financial inclusion events organized under the auspices of the CBE throughout the year, in sync with global events, contribute to reaching out and communicating with citizens in remote and underprivileged areas. During these events, banks are allowed to be present outside their branches and to offer opening accounts with no administration fees or minimum account balance, in addition to disseminating financial literacy, to encourage citizens to use various financial products.
Releasing the core set of financial inclusion indicators by the CBE is of great importance, as they help to track the progress of financial inclusion rates and enable the development of policies that support the economic empowerment of citizens. This comes within the framework of the efforts exerted on the national level and in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals and Egypt’s Vision 2030.
