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E-commerce will strengthen Egypt's banks in 2020

By , Journalist
Egypt , 10 Dec 2019

E-commerce will strengthen Egypt's banks in 2020

Banks in Egypt are expected to fare better than their regional peers and competitors in 2020 as they capitalise on e-commerce opportunities.

Global ratings agency Moody's said on Monday that the outlook for most banks across Africa has "changed to negative from stable" owing to weakening operating conditions.

The agency added that "Egyptian, Moroccan, Mauritian and Kenyan banks will be more resilient" starting 2020.

Other analysts say FinTech and e-commerce will underpin the resilience by banks in Egypt, one of the hotbeds of innovation and tech start-ups in Africa.

Global credit rating agency S&P, said last month that although "the proportion of the economy using financial services is low," there are opportunities in FinTech for banks in the country.

Alessandro Ulliana, primary credit analyst at SP Global, said, "New technologies could play a key role in improving financial inclusion. In particular, we understand that the main Egyptian players will increasingly leverage instruments such as mobile banking applications and digital branches to foster the growth of the retail banking segment."

Banking software company, Temenos, said recently that it has been selected by Egypt's National Post Organisation (ENPO) to provide software and technology platforms.

Temenos will also provide ENPO with an Advanced Analytics module. The company said the Egyptian financial company will use its scalable technology to "digitalise its front office to power Egypt's governmental initiative for financial inclusion in one of Africa's most populous countries" among other objectives.

Egypt has adopted a National Financial Inclusion Initiative which aims to promote the use of digital financial services throughout the nation.

Andreas Andreades, executive chairman for Temenos, said the company's "innovative technology can help make the banking industry better" and improve access to finance services.

"We believe that ENPO's end-to-end digital transformation will help them realise this digital vision and promote financial inclusion in Egypt."

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