Visa, EBI partner to strengthen Egypt's contactless payments ecosystem

ArabFinance: Visa and the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI) hosted a virtual seminar, titled The Future of the Contactless Ecosystem in Egypt, according to a March 7th company PR.

The seminar included 175 clients and industry partners and tackled the role of contactless payments in economic recovery; best practices in digital marketing to support the growth of digital payments; and the underlying security technology for contactless payments.

The adoption rate of tap-to-pay in Egypt has seen significant growth over the past year, with an impressive 900% growth in active contactless cards between September 2019 and September 2020, Malak el Baba, Visas Country Manager for Egypt, said during the webinar. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, 78% of Egyptians surveyed said they are making more contactless payments, disclosed El Baba.

The survey also found that 86% of consumers trust contactless technology, citing security, speed, convenience, and limited human contact as key reasons for their preference, she added.

Visa and the EBI now expect to build on this growth and support the country's transformation into a digital society. This is not the first time the companies come together to boost Egypts economic environment. In 2020, they have also hosted the Egypt Payment Security and Digital Solutions Conference, which raised awareness of the latest in cybersecurity trends and digital solutions innovations and was attended by leaders from Egyptian banks, merchants, and fintech companies.