What’s Egypt’s long game with InstaPay?

Launched on March 23 by Egypt’s central bank, InstaPay permits electronic transfers from accounts belonging to different banks. Thirteen banks currently use the app and run on its Instant Payment Network (IPN).

Why should we care?
Egyptian authorities may be copying India’s payments-forward fintech strategy. India has seen a proliferation of fintech startups since the launch of its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system in 2016. State figures claim over 2,000 fintechs to be based in the country, with more than 60% of them having launched since UPI’s development. Behind the scenes, though, India’s move also helped state regulators unseat fintech giants like Paytm and shape the fintech landscape as they saw fit. Egypt seems to have similar goals. “Our goal is to ensure the sovereignty of payments in Egypt, promote the National Payments Council’s vision of transforming the society towards less dependency on banknotes, and enabling convenient, secure, and affordable digital financial transactions for all Egyptians,” said Tarek Amer, Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt. First past the post, InstaPay has beat private players like Telda, which had hoped to be Egypt’s first mobile-banking and e-transfers app, but has yet to fully launch. This all but ensures that Egypt’s government can shape fintech with less private-sector pushback, and keep tight controls over payments in the country.