CAIRO – Assistant Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for Banking Operations and Electronic Payment Ehab Nasr said the national payment systems are considered a “safety valve” for the Egyptian economy in the event that global network services come to a halt for any emergency.
National payment systems provide various financial services to banks and citizens efficiently, Nasr told MENA.
Developing the financial infrastructure through introducing national payment systems is one of the most important objectives the CBE is working to achieve, the official said.
This comes in compliance with the national strategy of the National Payments Council that is chaired by President Abdel Fattah El Sisi, he added.
Nasr pointed out to CBE’s efforts over the past years to create a series of national payment systems, including an instant settlement system, a network to connect automatic teller machines (ATMs) with the Automated Clearing House (ACH), and the national payment scheme “Meeza”.
US payments firms Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc announced on Saturday that they are suspending operations in Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and that they would work with clients and partners to cease all transactions there.
Clients will no longer be able to use their Russian cards abroad or for international payments online either.
Visa and Mastercard alone control about 90 per cent of credit and debit payments in the world, outside of China.
