OPay Egypt, the leading fintech and electronic payments startup, said that it has received preliminary approval from Egypt’s Central Bank to issue prepaid cards via its OPay app.
Prepaid cards will be distributed in partnership with the Egyptian Cards Company, the largest card distributor in the local and regional market.
OPay Egypt wants to supply all electronic payment solutions in the local market with this latest step.
Customers will be able to load money onto the prepaid cards and then use them to make cash withdrawals and purchases without needing to have a bank account.
These cards offer OPay users a comprehensive suite of financial and payment services.
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“We are pleased with our cooperation with the Egyptian Cards Company to issue our prepaid cards. The new cards will provide additional paying options that will greatly contribute in our efforts to provide the best non-banking services to our customers through a smooth and easy payment system represented in the prepaid cards,” Mahmoud khedr, Director of business development and strategic partnerships for Egypt and North Africa at OPay, said. “The prepaid cards will allow our customers to use the cards in paying and purchasing, and meets their financial needs wherever they are.”
He underlined that this partnership will bolster efforts to achieve financial inclusion in Egypt, and characterized it as a practical implementation of Egypt’s National Payments Council’s plan.
In this regard, Khedr highlighted the President’s economic reform effort and the Central Bank of Egypt’s actions, which aided in drawing foreign investors to the Egyptian market, particularly in the payments and collections and fintech sectors.
He also commended the role of The Central Bank’s decisions that “guaranteed an atmosphere of competitiveness, that broadly benefits Egyptian citizens by providing them with the best financial solutions that fit all segments of the society.”
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Hesham Ezz El-Din, Digital and Cards Business line director at OPay Egypt, said: “We are working hard to reinforce our presence in the Egyptian local market and offering new electronic payments and collections solutions, as well as supporting our customers through an inclusive system that helps in pushing digital transformation forward and supports financial inclusion.”
These steps, Ezz El-Din said “help us arrive at a non-cash society in light of the strategy of The Central Bank of Egypt and the directive of the Egyptian state within the 2030 digital vision.”
Ezz El-Din said that OPay’s prepaid cards will be connected with OPay’s mobile app, in order to guarantee that the service Meets the needs of the customers.
Connecting the card with the app will allow customers to request the issuance or cancellation of the prepaid card.
Ezz El-Din reiterated that the move also comes as a part of the company’s concerted efforts to expand its branches all over the country.
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“OPay seeks to offer the best electronic services in the Egyptian market, while maintaining the highest levels of safety and security for its customers,” Ezz El-Din said.
OPay signed a joint cooperation protocol with the Egyptian Cards Company last year to facilitate issuing banking cards.
OPay Egypt cards OPay Egypt cards
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard. You can book a session and speak with him using the link: https://insightsbyexperts.com/view_expert/charles-rapulu-udoh