CBE Extends Exemption of “InstaPay” Transactions from Fees

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) decided on Thursday to extend InstaPay application  free transactions, and to cancel the fee-imposing that was scheduled to take effect in 2024.

The Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Egypt issued a set of decisions that include exempting customers from all expenses and commissions related to bank transfer services for individuals that are made through electronic channels (the Internet and mobile banking) in Egyptian pounds, as well as exempting from all expenses and commissions related to transfer services for customers of the national system for real-time payments. 

These decisions - which are effective as of January 1, 2024 - come as a continuation of the efforts of the Central Bank to motivate citizens to use digital financial services, and to benefit from the advantages it offers to complete financial services quickly, from anywhere and at any time, which contributes to the transformation of a society less dependent on Banknotes and enhancing financial inclusion.

It is worth noting that the national system for real-time payments - which was launched in April 2022 - is one of the most important infrastructure projects for payment systems sponsored by the Central Bank, to be an integrated alternative to cash payments that provides all transfer services to customers instantly.

The system has witnessed a significant increase in the volume of transactions - reaching 404 million transactions worth EGP 815 billion in 2023 through the InstaPay application and the bank’s electronic channels - and the number of service users has reached more than 6.5 million customers.

It also features linking more than one bank account and Meeza cards on the same application, and easy registration on the application without visiting the bank or any documents. 

Regarding the transaction limits on the InstaPay application, the transaction limits on the application are about EGP 70,000 per transaction, EGP 120,000 per day, and EGP 400,000 per month.

Moreover, “InstaPay” will provide bill payment services, which is a qualitative leap in enhancing financial inclusion and citizens’ greater reliance on electronic payment methods.