Within the framework of its support to the State’s plan to attain financial inclusion, the National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) has been keen to incessantly coordinate efforts with telecom operators to create a digital payment ecosystem and set regulatory frameworks for payment services by using e-wallets of mobile phones. This will eventually lead to the spread e-payment methods nationwide, and expedites the transition towards a cashless society.

Moreover, in light of the NTRA’s mandate to raise the users’ awareness about e-payment methods, the NTRA has issued its second report on the indicators for the usage of e-wallets of mobile phones. The report highlights that there are 14.4 million e-wallets nationwide by October 2020. They carry out 9.9 million e-transactions per month. In these transactions, there are three most used services by subscribers; they are as follows:

The e-wallets of mobile phones are distributed among mobile operators as per the order: Vodafone 65%, Orange 23%, Etisalat 11%, WE 1%. By comparing the findings of the first and second reports issued by the NTRA in March and October 2020, it is remarkably notable that there is a rise in the indicators of e-wallet usage. The main results are as follows:

• The number of e-wallets increased by 17%, amounting to 14.4 million e-wallets in October 2020, compared to 12.3 million e-wallets in March 2020.
• The number of e-transactions carried out by using e-wallets increased by 156%, reaching 9.9 million e-transactions per month by October 2020, compared to 3.9 million e-transactions per month in March 2020.
• The number of transfers from one e-wallet to another increased by 224%, amounting to 3.8 million transactions in October 2020, compared to 1.2 million transactions in March 2020, as the Average Transaction Value (ATV) amounted to 981 Egyptian pounds.
• The number of deposits increased by 145%, reaching 1.9 million deposits in October 2020, compared to 0.8 million deposits in March 2020, as the Average Transaction Value (ATV) amounted to 1264 Egyptian pounds.
• The number of withdrawals increased by 85%, reaching 1.2 million withdrawals in October 2020, compared to 0.7 million withdrawals in March 2020, as the Average Transaction Value (ATV) amounted to 1855 Egyptian pounds.
• The number of balance recharge operations (mobile/internet) by using e-wallets increased by 135%, reaching 2.7 million operations in October 2020, compared to 1.1 million operations in March 2020, and the Average Transaction Value (ATV) amounted to 29 Egyptian pounds.
• The number of other payments operations (which include utility bills payment, salary and bonus transfers, the payment of divorced women’s alimonies, donations, online shopping, savings and rural lending) increased by 155%, reaching 370,000 transactions in October 2020, compared to 145,000 in March 2020, and the Average Transaction Value (ATV) amounted to 180 Egyptian pounds.

There three most used services by subscribers according to the number of transactions are as follows:

1. Transfers: this means any transfer of funds from an e-wallet account to another e-wallet account of mobile phones; operations amount to 38% of the total number of transactions per month.
2. Depositing and withdrawing cash from the e-wallets of the mobile phones: these are done directly either through the outlets of mobile operators, or by using ATMs and currently amount to 31% of the total number of transactions per month.

3. Recharging balance (mobile phone/internet): this means recharging the mobile phone balance with cash or paying the Internet bill with cash deducted from the balance of the e-wallet of the mobile phone. These operations currently amount to a rate of 27% of the total number of transactions per month.

4. As for the geographic distribution of holders of the e-wallets of mobile phones nationwide, it is noted that the e-wallet transactions and services are widely spread in all governorates, as Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Dakahlya and Sharqya came at the forefront of the governorates, at a rate of 49% of the e-wallet holders. In addition, the service is used at large by all age groups in the society with a relative increase among those of 26-45 years of age.

The Measures Taken and Initiatives Launched by the NTRA to Spur the usage of the E-payment Methods in the Egyptian Telecom Market

The NTRA has taken a set of measures to spur and stimulate the usage of e-payment transactions in the telecom services. In addition, the NTRA has launched several initiatives and coordinated efforts with various government bodies to encourage and urge the use of digital means to carry out and conduct financial transactions electronically, as follows:

1. Provided free units (at least 2000 units) for new subscribers when subscribing to e-wallets of mobile phones to use them as minutes and megabytes.
   1. Provided current subscribers free units when using e-wallets.
   1. Extended the period for existing customers to benefit from transfer services when transferring money from one wallet to another or purchasing online without incurring any charges until the end of this year.

To review and download the report, kindly click the following link: NTRA’s Second Report on the Indicators for Usage of E-wallets of Mobile Phones