Group items tagged

Share7KTweetShareWhatsAppEmail7K SharesEgyptian electronic payments company Fawry now has a market cap of over $1 billion. It achieved the feat during the intraday trading, with its share price rising to EGP 22.69 which gives it a market cap of EGP 16 billion or $1 billion (for the first time). With this, Fawry has become the first technology company in Egypt to get to the billion-dollar valuation.

Egyptian electronic payments company Fawry now has a market cap of over $1 billion. It achieved the feat during the intraday trading, with its share price rising to EGP 22.69 which gives it a market cap of EGP 16 billion or $1 billion (for the first time). With this, Fawry has become the first technology company in Egypt to get to the billion-dollar valuation.

Its revenue for the first half of 2020 has increased by 47 percent (year-on-year) to EGP 549.26 million ($34.41 million) from EGP 373.33 million ($23.38 million) for the same period of 2019. The net profit of the company in H1 2020 has increased by over 135 percent YoY to EGP 85.9 million ($5.38 million) from EGP 36.47 million ($2.29) in H1 2019.

Its stock price has increased by over 300 percent since its debut at The Egyptian Exchange in August last year. It had gone public with its shares priced at EGP 6.46 (per share).

Egypt's Fawry is now a billion-dollar company

Its stock price has increased by over 300 percent since its debut at The Egyptian Exchange in August last year. It had gone public with its shares priced at EGP 6.46 (per share).

Its revenue for the first half of 2020 has increased by 47 percent (year-on-year) to EGP 549.26 million ($34.41 million) from EGP 373.33 million ($23.38 million) for the same period of 2019. The net profit of the company in H1 2020 has increased by over 135 percent YoY to EGP 85.9 million ($5.38 million) from EGP 36.47 million ($2.29) in H1 2019.

Fawry is the Leading Egyptian Digital Transformation & E-Payments Platform, offering financial services to consumers and businesses through more than 194,000 locations and a variety of channels.

Co-founder Daniel Hadgu states, “In my journey of understanding what it truly means to help others and become an effective leader, I have uncovered the power of innovation.”

With a population of over 100 million people, Egypt is a land of opportunity for consumer services providers. In a country where payment procedures are often slow, fragmented and complex, Fawry identified a gap in the market for a simple, secure omnichannel payment gateway.

Fawry now supports millions of transactions daily for consumers and business through more than 90,000 locations (including groceries, pharmacies, stationaries and post offices), as well as through multiple alternative channels, including online, ATMs, and mobile wallets. The company’s client base and service offerings continue to expand, leading to rapid data growth. Abbas comments: "Our data has doubled in just the last eight months, and we expect it to grow even faster in the years to come.”

Fawry Putting Egypt on the global digital payments map

Fawry has a long history with IBM, having chosen IBM solutions to underpin its business again and again over the last decade. The company relies on both IBM Db2 and Oracle database software running on IBM Power Systems to support its bespoke electronic financial platform, processing 2 million transactions per day. “Together, IBM Db2, Oracle database and IBM Power Systems solutions give us the ability to process huge transaction volumes,” comments Abbas. “They provide a powerful foundation for our business, and have scaled seamlessly as we’ve grown.”

3. Regulators finally make the pivot to supporting the FinTech ecosystemBitX, a bitcoin startup in Singapore, was looking to enter the UK and European markets. Instead of having an arduous journey gaining the required licenses and approvals as it would have expected in the past, BitX was accepted into the regulatory sandbox of the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority. This enabled it to test its services and build its product with the backing of the regulator. This kind of thinking reflects how in the past few years we have seen regulators move from hindering innovation and new services, to proactively supporting and strengthening the FinTech ecosystem.It is a challenging line to take, particularly in the

world of finance – to help create the framework and environment for innovation, while also protecting consumers and businesses. However, increasingly we see regulators getting this blend right.For example, the European Union’s Directive on Payment Services (PSD2) will create an EU-wide single market for payments. This will drive new opportunities and innovation in the payment sector, because it will force financial institutions to provide secure access for a third-party service provider to a customer’s online account. Meanwhile, we have seen regulatory sandboxes emerge not just in the UK, but in locations from Singapore to Australia. The US Treasury meanwhile recently announced it will start issuing special purpose national bank charters to FinTech companies.In the future, expect to see the emergence of “RegTech”. This will enable real-time interaction and analysis between regulators and financial institutions. Indeed, thi

ch as in New York, London or Singapore. So, although the UK dominates the world of fintech (generating an estimated £6.6billion in FinTech related revenue), leading organizations are looking for inspiration among the innovative services, products and ideas being created from Guadalajara, to Laos, to Kenya.In many cases we can see that the unique financial environment of these locations is resulting in novel ideas. For example, Guadalajara based start-up Kueski uses a person’s digital footprint to assess their credit worthiness – a particular challenge in Mexico where credit is not available to large swathes of the population. In Latin America Tigo Cash is a mobile financial service which already handles more cash than many financial institutions in the region. We will see markets and services emerging which are currently not on anyone’s map, and become some of the most important financial organizations in the world.

software platform between itself and the banks, so it can view and analyze information in real-time.4. Look beyond the hubs to find innovative ideasAcross Kenya, mobile money has become ubiquitous – being used by at least one person in 96% of Kenyan households. But what is the real impact of mobile money in such countries? One study estimated that M-PESA, the Kenyan mobile money system which enables money to be stored on a phone and be sent via text, has helped lift 2% of Kenyan households out of poverty.What this example demonstrates is that the impact of FinTech innovation is often created and experienced outside of the usual hubs of finance su

In the past few years we have seen the rapid evolution of FinTech from generating novel ideas which solve customer problems, to offering core financial services. We have seen the shift from digital startups, characterized by a lack of financial wherewithal and which operated on the edge of tightly regulated markets, to the emergence of mature financial digital organizations at the heart of the traditional financial world.We can describe the development and maturing of FinTech in 3 main waves:The early emergence of digital startups helping consumers. Originally FinTech solutions were the preserve of B2C markets which solved specific customer problems such as offering home loans faster and easier. They used new technologies such as mobile and cloud computing, and were characterized by a laser focus on the customer with all the hall-marks of a digital Silicon-Valley style start-up.Transition to B2B markets. Today FinTech plays a role at the core of B2B innovation in financial markets, and industry observers widely expect B2B FinTech revenues to dwarf those in consumer markets within the next couple of years. Organizations such as Currency Cloud (cross border B2B payments), Payoneer Escrow (escrow services), and Hummingbill (B2B invoice platform) all reflect a maturing industry.The creation of an ecosystem between FinTech and traditional players. FinTech organizations are realizing that the required go-to-market investment, economies of scale, and regulatory needs, means it makes sense to partner with traditional financial institutions. On the other side, established players recognize the value, innovation and potential of FinTech in a world which is increasingly mobile-first. These financial institutions are also adopting many of the methods that FinTechs use so successfully, from a focus on the customer, to using Agile software development, to holding hackathons, and forming accelerators and innovation programs.

ch as in New York, London or Singapore. So, although the UK dominates the world of fintech (generating an estimated £6.6billion in FinTech related revenue), leading organizations are looking for inspiration among the innovative services, products and ideas being created from Guadalajara, to Laos, to Kenya.In many cases we can see that the unique financial environment of these locations is resulting in novel ideas. For example, Guadalajara based start-up Kueski uses a person’s digital footprint to assess their credit worthiness – a particular challenge in Mexico where credit is not available to large swathes of the population. In Latin America Tigo Cash is a mobile financial service which already handles more cash than many financial institutions in the region. We will see markets and services emerging which are currently not on anyone’s map, and become some of the most important financial organizations in the world.

It’s 2020 and to apply for a loan, instead of going to your local bank branch, you quickly ask Facebook for approval. This is far from fanciful thinking. Even as of today, PayPal is arguably one of the largest retail banks — it has more money in deposits than all but the largest 20 US banks, and offers services from payments, to loans and credit cards (albeit currently via partners). But we believe that one of the major tech companies, whether that is Facebook, Amazon, Google, or Ant Financial (the financial arm of Alibaba) will not only transform retail banking, but rapidly become the largest retail bank in the world.

Mohamed Okasha, Managing Director of Fawry, said that the partnership with WATCH iT! is the result of a joint cooperation to provide outstanding services to customers, highlighting that “Fawry Pay” payment methods include payment either cash through any of Fawry outlets or online using credit cards (MizaCard, MasterCard and Visa) in addition to bank channels linked to Fawry’s network (ATM, Internet banking, mobile wallets) and also through “myFawry” application available for smart phones.

“Fawry Pay” platform provided by Fawry for the online shopping sector, offers customers different payment methods and various e- services. Over one million and 100,000 transactions were made on “Fawry Pay” platform during this year till the end of August 2019 for more than 280 e-merchants dealing with the service.

Why is this app so popular, and what does it do? In short it aims to replace the use of cash for both customer and merchant. What makes this unique for the merchant, is that they don’t need a bank account or a card machine to receive payments.

SnapScan’s partnership with Standard Bank has allowed the company to grow faster. But Ehlers and his team are still required to adapt to the differences between the corporate and start-up worlds.

"EthioPay – the Unifying e-Payment Platform for Ethiopia"

Ashraf Sabry and Mohamed Okasha founded Fawry in 2008. It has an online payment gateway for business owners to transact with customers via cash, credit cards, and e-wallets. In 2019, Fawry listed about 36% (254.6M) of its ordinary shares on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. It initially sold at EGP 6.46 per share, and then it tripled to EGP 18.78 at a market cap of EGP 13.3B in July 2020. After going public, other investors took an interest that led to a significant increase by over 300% in its stock price since its debut at the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

List of banks connected to EthioPay National Bank of Ethiopia Abay Bank Addis International Bank Awash International Bank Bank of Abyssinia Berhan International Bank Bunna International Bank Commercial Bank of Ethiopia Cooperative Bank of Oromia Dashen Bank Debub Global Bank Development Bank Enat Bank Lion International Bank Nib International Bank Oromia International Bank United Bank Wegagen Bank Zemen Bank

EthioPay is the brand given to the National e-Payment Switch of Ethiopia.

It is all a result of low disclosure on the system start-up. We were among the banks engaged in the pilot phase,” said Yoseph.

After last month’s unofficial launch of Ethio-Pay, customers of other banks complained that the Bank of Abyssinia’s (BoA) ATMs did not provide service for other cards; guards of some branches unaware of the complete switch operation were seen forbidding customers from trying their cards at the ATMs. Oddly enough, 16pc of the amount transacted took place through BoA’s Machines.

The belated national e-payment switch, Ethio-Pay, serving the integration of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sale (POS) machines, celebrated its official launch on May 12, 2016.

“We have our own regulation to solve possible audit dispute between banks. We also have a system to prove the audit’s accuracy,” said Bizuneh Bekele, CEO of Eth-Switch S.C.