Mona Al-Jarf praises payment using mobile phone services

Dr. Mona Al-Jarf, Professor of Economic and Political Sciences, said that the rules governing the provision of mobile payment services are in the interest of Egyptian banks because it will support the policy of financial inclusion and economic growth as well as it will create new investment opportunities for Egyptian banks.

"These rules are also in line with the issuance of the Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Unit, with due diligence procedures for mobile payment service's customers," Al-Jarf added.

Al-Jarf added, in interview with Arabs Today, that the system will enable bank agents to complete identification and verification procedures, and these agents are deployed throughout the country to provide banking services.

She stressed that the payment system of the mobile device will be available to all categories from the lower income classes to the luxury categories, and will also cover the citizens and groups in remote areas.

Al-Jarf pointed out that the new rules allow micro-enterprises, institutions and merchants from the customers of the service to pay and collect from the mobile phone account, which means facilitating the sale and purchase of goods and services, which means to promote the local market.

She added that the traditional money transfer system will enable customers to receive remittances from abroad through their accounts. Financial transactions can also be conducted between all customers without the customer's system and the transfer of balances between the customer's mobile account and other accounts at the same bank.

"The feature would be widely applied in Egypt because the banks would be in place within six months after updating their software and applications so that they could exchange data with the digital payment platforms of other systems," she stated.

"The return on the implementation of this system will lead to payment services through the mobile phone to a significant growth in banking services in Egypt. "Since the launch of mobile payment services in Egypt three years ago, the number of subscribers to these services reached 2.6 million in October 2016, compared to the population of 90 million people," she added.

Dr. Mona Al-Jarf added that the percentage of financial coverage in Egypt is very low as the percentage of those with bank accounts of Egyptians only 14% of the number of adults.

"It is expected to lead the provision of banking services through mobile phones to increase the volume of deposits and high growth, she said.

She stressed that the positive service opportunities for banks will give the mobile payment system opportunities for banks to market and sell new services and products to existing and new customers such as salaries, transfers, payment of bills and collection of micro financing installments.