CBE Releases Regulations on Payment Tokenization

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.

Women-led Small Businesses in UAE to Shine on Xare Women’s Day

Global fintech platform, Xare, has announced a new initiative, “XareHerWins”, designed to promote and celebrate women-led businesses this Women’s Day. The program seeks to showcase small, women-run businesses on the Xare platform at no cost and provide marketing support to help them grow.

According to the Ministry of Economy, half of all SMEs in the UAE are women-owned, while 48% of women business owners are also the sole owners of their companies.

Moreover, it’s widely acknowledged that women entrepreneurs start businesses at a rate 1.5x higher than men, often taking on the toughest issues the world is facing and fostering technologies that will influence our future. Yet, female-led firms receive just 2 percent of all venture capital the world over.

As per Wamda, of the enterprises that raised capital in the UAE last month, 99% were led by men.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report 2022, it will take 132 years to close the gender gap worldwide. Despite the strides made over the last few years in achieving gender parity, women-backed enterprises do not get adequate opportunities to grow, especially small businesses.

Xare is on a mission to make finance accessible and equitable for everyone – including small businesses and women-owned enterprises. As a user-generated finance platform, it enables anyone to shop on the platform using a credit /debit card that was shared with them by someone. While Xare has partnerships with some of the biggest consumer brands in the UAE, like Barakat, SharafDG, Mumzworld, and Carrefour, users don’t often discover the incredible products offered by small, local businesses.

XareHerWins is open to all women-run small businesses across various industries, such as clothing, jewelry, home décor, and more. It will feature the businesses at no cost on Xare and provide marketing support aimed at helping them grow their customer base and increase sales.