Egypt rolls out digital ID platform to scale up financial inclusion

Egypt’s Central Bank (CBE) has unveiled a website in preparation for the launch of a mobile application labelled Haweya to facilitate digital ID verification for financial inclusion and other services.

Launched last month, the website will enable remote digital Know Your Customer (eKYC) services, bank account opening for 37 banks, document verification, subscription to telecoms services such as SIM card purchase, as well as access to other government and private sector services, Nile FM reports.

To use the Haweya platform, citizens need to register for it with their biometric data which will then become their trusted digital ID profile for access to services subsequently. This will save them the trouble of having to engage in complicated and sometimes error-prone paperwork when carrying out banking and other transactions.

When the digital ID app is eventually launched, the CBE believes citizens can easily open bank accounts or carry out other financial transactions using their smartphone, without having to visit physical bank locations.

According to the CBE, the Haweya system combines face and fingerprint biometrics and digital signatures to ensure safe and secure identity verification, allowing users to access services which are aimed at strengthening Egypt’s financial inclusion and digital; economy. A system integrator Raya IT recently obtained funding to contribute to Egypt’s digital economy through digital public infrastructure expansion.

Haweya CEO Tamer Gadalla and his team are said to be the driving force behind the digital ID initiative which will not only boost access to financial services in the remote parts of Egypt, but will take the country a step further in strengthening its digital economy, while also positioning it as a regional fintech innovation leader.

In a comment after the Haweya website was launched, the deputy General Manager in charge of Digital Transformation at Egypt’s state-owned bank, Banque Misr, Mahmoud Hussein, wrote in a LinkedIn post that the country was “taking a bold step toward a fully digital financial ecosystem.”

As Prime Business Africa reports, the initiative will further drive financial inclusion which stood at 76 percent by June this year, with 53 million Egyptian adults having a bank account. This is well above the account ownership average of 53 percent for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region where Egypt belongs.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  document verification  |  Egypt  |  financial inclusion  |  financial services  |  Haweya  |  identity verification  |  KYC