Yacine El Mahdi Oualid, Algeria’s Minister of Knowledge Economy, Start-ups, and Microenterprises, stated Monday in Algiers that a bill relating to currency and credit would establish new activities allowing the creation of competitiveness among Algerian startups, particularly in terms of modernising payment methods.
Mr. Oualid emphasised “the importance” of this legal text for the country’s economy during an appearance before the Finance and Budget Committee of the National People’s Assembly (APN), which was presided over by Lakhdar Salmi, the commission’s president, during a discussion on the currency and credit bill. Basma Azouar, the minister responsible for relations with the legislature, was also present. For startups, the proposed law “institutes new operations in the financial business, particularly in terms of modernization of methods of payment”.
This piece of legislation, which accompanies the transformations that have occurred in the banking ecosystem, particularly with regard to the authorization of investment banks, digital banks, payment service providers, and independent intermediaries, as well as the change in office opening hours, “will allow the creation of a new competitive ecosystem for Algerian startups,” the minister stated, adding that the market value of payment services and independent intermediaries has increased.
This bill will also allow for the development of payment methods in Algeria as well as the spread of electronic payment culture, which will encourage startups and technology companies to contribute to this dynamic, according to Mr. Oualid, who notes that the majority of startups in Africa, carriers with a market value of more than one (1) billion USD, are active in the field of fintech.
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Particularly, for the first time, electronic payment facilitators (payment service providers) that would advance currency transactions in the North African country are included in the proposed law. On the other side, the law will also make it possible for digital banks to be established, allowing them to play significant roles in the Algerian economic scene.
The measure comes “to make up for the shortfalls documented last year, particularly in terms of methods of payment”, specified the Minister, in the sense that “e-payment, being formerly the prerogative of banking establishments, has become current practise among start-ups in large countries”.
Mr. Oualid added that the Algerian digital dinar, whose creation and administration are overseen by the Bank of Algeria in accordance with the law, “is a good measure that is in tune with the developments made,” indicating that all nations are moving in this direction and are “threatened by cryptocurrencies.”
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The draught law on currency and credit was presented last Thursday by the Minister of Finance, Brahim Djamel Kassali, before the APN’s Finance and Budget Committee. It aims to increase the governance and transparency of the banking system, with the Bank of Algeria as its leader, by giving the Council of Money and Credit (CMC) more authority.
The Minister of Finance at the time stated that this text of law, which repeals Ordinance No03–11 of August 26, 2003 relating to money and credit, as amended and supplemented, is a part of “the reforms initiated by the public authorities and the restructuring of the monetary system and finance in Algeria, in order to adapt to the latest developments and better meet the requirements of the expected economic reform.”
law fintech Algeria law fintech Algeria
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