Several local banks are eyeing regional expansion: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) gave a number of local banks the green light to expand regionally, particularly in countries with a large number of Egyptian expats, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Qatar, and Jordan. The banks in question include the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, and the Arab African International Bank (AAIB), according to a document seen by EnterpriseAM.

As things stand: NBE and Banque Misr have already opened up some branches in countries across the region, while the AAIB is still completing the approval process with the CBE, a government source told EnterpriseAM. Banque Misr also opened its first branch in Djibouti back in April as part of a wider Africa expansion plan that includes an additional branch in Somalia’s Mogadishu — set for launch in June — as well as a plan to turn its Kenya representative office into a full branch.

AAIB also received approval from the CBE to establish a financial services subsidiary in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), with the remaining approval procedures currently underway in the UAE.

What the expansion plans entail: The banks aim to upgrade their presence in countries abroad from merely having representative offices and agents to launching fully operational branches and subsidiaries in select Arab and European countries, a banking source said. These expansions will also be accompanied by competitive exchange rates to reduce competition from exchange offices and other banks.

This could boost remittances: Instant remittances received via the central bank’s payment platform Instapay reached 145k transactions valued at USD 35 mn since its launch during 4Q 2024. Meanwhile, digital remittances received through company apps and transfer service providers activated over the past year reached 185 mn transactions at a value of USD 95 mn.

Remittances from Egyptians residing abroad are expected to reach USD 35 bn in the upcoming fiscal year, before rising further to USD 45 bn in FY 2028-2029. Money sent from abroad is estimated to have made up around 8% of the country’s entire GDP in 2024, up from 5% in 2023 and 6.1% in 2022. In terms of current account inflows, Egyptians abroad sending FX home are expected to have accounted for 35% of inflows in 2024, up from the 25% recorded in the year prior, but still a long way off the 45% recorded in 2020.

REMEMBER- The CBE gave the green light to a number of banks back in December to start accepting Egypt-bound remittances from abroad through Instapay.

AND- Additional measures are being taken to boost funds from expats: The CBE is working to offer products for Egyptian expats, including personal loan initiatives, variable-interest deposits, and high-yield savings certificates. There are also efforts to promote the Beit Al Watan initiative to attract investment from Egyptian expatriates, in addition to efforts to integrate with global credit card networks to increase the volume of instant remittances. The Finance Ministry is also planning on issuing local bonds targeting Egyptians residing abroad through a new digital platform, which would work to allow individuals to invest in domestic debt instruments without intermediaries, our source said.

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