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The $6 million investment will help Fawry, a local company, extend its network of payment terminals across Egypt, a country heavily reliant on cumbersome cash transactions. That is expected to help consumers pay bills and make it easier for businesses to receive payments, stoking commerce and economic growth.

The investment is also designed to help restore investor confidence in Egypt and create jobs in its burgeoning high-tech sector.

The shares that were listed at the price of EGP 6.46 soared 31 percent to close at EGP 8.48  on the first day of trading, which gives the company a market cap close to EGP 6 billion or $366 million.

Fawry was acquired by a consortium of three investors; Helios Investment Partners, MENA Long-Term Value Fund, and Egyptian-American Enterprise in 2015. The three investors had reportedly acquired 85 percent of the company at a valuation of $100 million.

Fawry Banking and Payment Technology Services- a joint venture between HSBC, Arab African International Bank, Bank of Alexandria, EFG Hermes, Raya Holding and Fawry management)- is an electronic bill payment and presentment (EBPP) network that enables the Egyptian public to conveniently and securely pay their bills and topup their mobile phones through the various electronic channels available at banks and a network of retailers.

Fawry For Banking Technology And Electronic Payment is engaged in providing electronic payment services in Egypt. It offers ways to pay bills and other services in multiple channels like online, using ATMs, mobile wallets and retail points. The firm's network of retailers includes small groceries, pharmacies, stationary, and post-offices among others.

In 2019, Fawry became the first fintech company to IPO in the region and since taking that step, the price of its stock has risen by 300 per cent. In August, Fawry became Egypt’s first tech ‘unicorn,’ born during a global pandemic and what is quickly becoming a global economic meltdown of massive proportions.

BenefitsOffering a distinctive integration and management service with various redemption channels. Giving our clients points at their top favorite brands. Providing Customer convenience and ensure a better experience. Increasing customers loyalty and retention through engaging activities and programs. Boosting disbursement pattern motivating them by earning and burning points.

How it works?

Egyptian digital payments company Fawry plans to expand into the United Arab Emirates by the end of the year and also hopes to enter Saudi Arabia and Kuwait

Consumers continue to use Google Search and YouTube for inspiration and learning new skills, and ‘how to’ searches continue to grow across both platforms.

Fawry's network processed 600.1 million transactions last year with a total value of 34.2 billion Egyptian pounds ($2.1 billion), EFG Hermes said in its statement.

For years, Egyptian companies have been paying salaries in cash, and people have been saving money outside banks.  Only 10 percent of Egyptians have bank accounts, according to Payfort’s State of Payments in the Arab World 2014 report. Over the previous decade, the electronic payment market has been penetrated by two firms: state-owned e-Finance, which handles electronic payments from and to the government through banking channels, and private-sector Fawry, which was launched in 2008 to provide payment solutions through ATM machines, mobile wallets, and retail points. Chief technology officer of Fawry, Mostafa Elnahhas, told Wamda that his company succeeded in spreading 65,000 collection points in 300 cities for banked customers in Egypt. However, the electronic payment is still small-sized due to the large amount of unbanked customers and the low credit card penetration.

Regulations are, however, crippling entrepreneurs. Mourad Alashry, CEO of PayMe, launched his startup in August 2016. It  allows companies and businesses to collect electronic payment without signing contracts with banks or paying extra fees.  The startup offers a simple payment tool for companies to allow them to set up an account and have customers send money through it. PayMe app was forced by Egypt’s fiscal regulator to stop operating for four months to abide by regulations. (Photo via PayMe) However, shortly after its launch, the Central Bank of Egypt, the state regulator, suspended Payme’s operations as a payment firm as it wasn’t cooperating with a bank. The firm had to abide by this regulation until it followed the requirements and collaborated with state-owned bank the National Bank of Egypt, then resumed its business in January 2017.  

Regulations are, however, crippling entrepreneurs. Mourad Alashry, CEO of PayMe, launched his startup in August 2016. It  allows companies and businesses to collect electronic payment without signing contracts with banks or paying extra fees.  The startup offers a simple payment tool for companies to allow them to set up an account and have customers send money through it.

Fawry Points SystemThe loyalty promo engine is designed to act based on the four elements of the marketing mix (product, price, promotion or distribution) where the customers are involved in long term rewarding programs based on their consumption and activities . Our in house designed white label portal & App provides detailed, reliable & convenient loyalty solutions with the same look & features that help to build the best in class B2B and B2C customer experience.

Feeding into the Central Bank of Egypt’s grand plans of building a digital economy and advancing digital and financial inclusion, the partnership aims to increase use of digital payment solutions such as POS terminals and QR solutions, by leveraging Visa’s global network and Fawy’s on-ground, localised solutions.

“Egypt needs fintech, specifically after the success story of Fawry, since our financial markets are not properly regulated at the level of payments and e-commerce – all of it is more informal, so any solutions would boom,” Sharara says.

MoneyFellows, an Egyptian startup incubated in London, marries technology with traditional money circles to help people save and borrow through their social networks. Like many other startups, MoneyFellows has to work with commercial banks because the Egyptian government has strict regulations about institutions that can look after customers’ deposits.

Fintech is used to define an industry that integrates financial and technology resources to develop financial solutions for organizations. In recent years, fintech innovations have transformed the way and the speed at which money can change hands. The major benefit of this has been at the consumer end. Making payments for them has become safer and quicker than ever before!

According to Gartner,* “Application leaders responsible for digital commerce payments should use this Gartner research to adapt their customer-facing and operational payments processes to the current environment, optimize the customer payment experience and build organizational resiliency.”  

One of the major challenges faced by financial companies are cyber threats, thus making it key motive to strengthen payment gateway to safeguard customer data and transaction process.