The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) released regulations pertaining to payment card tokenization on electronic device applications on 8 March, according to the “Egyptian Streets” website.
Once approved and implemented, the regulations will effectively allow for contactless payments through applications like Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay among other fintech services.
Currently, payment cards in Egypt can function in both offline and online modes, as well as contactless, while worldwide, the option to pay via payment card tokenization has proved to be popular, with many banks offering tokenization services on various devices such as smartphones and smart watches.
The report highlighted that these services are meant to “stimulate the use of new electronic payment tools for customers to carry out various electronic banking transactions.”
The regulations specifically address payment tokenization in which a payment token is utilized throughout the entire payment transaction from the point of sale to the acquirer. They also stipulate a Consumer Device Cardholder Verification Method (CDCVM), a type of verification enabled by card networks when conducting contactless transactions stemming from mobile and electronic devices, or PIN use.
The regulations fit within the framework of CBE’s efforts to promote digital development as per Daily News Egypt.
In recent years, Egypt has been increasingly facilitating payment services that depend less on cash through companies and solutions such as InstaPay, Telda, Fawry, Vodafone Cash among others, which have become widely accessible and beneficial to Egypt’s under banked population.
