Rules for Licensing and Registration of Payment Systems Operators and Payment Service Providers (2025)

Issued by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on 19 June 2025 under the Central Bank and Banking System Law No. 194 of 2020, these Rules establish the detailed licensing and registration regime for Payment Systems Operators (PSOs) and Payment Service Providers (PSPs) in Egypt. They give long-awaited operational effect, five years after the enabling Law, to the regulation of the country's growing electronic-payments and fintech sector, and they replace reliance on earlier circulars with a comprehensive, codified framework. The Rules apply to any entity operating a payment system or providing payment services in Egypt and define the regulated activities, which include operating payment systems; cash deposits and withdrawals; transferring funds to and from payment accounts; providing payment instruments and acceptance channels (including electronic acceptance tools); issuing and managing electronic payment instruments; processing electronic payment transactions; inbound and outbound remittance services; the creation and management of payment orders; and the issuance of electronic money. They set out the conditions and documentation for obtaining a licence (for PSOs) or registration (for PSPs), including incorporation, capital, governance, technology and security, AML/CFT and consumer-protection requirements, and they distinguish the obligations of operators from those of providers. The Rules grant a transitional period of twelve months from issuance, ending in June 2026, within which existing payment institutions must regularise their position and obtain the appropriate licence or registration. The CBE supervises licensees and registrants through reporting, inspection and enforcement, including the power to refuse, suspend or revoke authorisations. As the operative market-entry rulebook for payment businesses in Egypt, the Rules are the instrument most directly relevant to fintechs seeking to provide payment services in the country and are read together with the CBE's accompanying governance and fit-and-proper regulations.

1. 1Detailed licensing (PSOs) and registration (PSPs) regime under Law No. 194 of 2020
2. 2Defines regulated activities: payment-system operation, fund transfers, payment instruments/acceptance, e-money issuance, remittance, payment orders
3. 3Conditions on incorporation, capital, governance, technology/security, AML/CFT and consumer protection
4. 4Distinguishes obligations of operators from those of providers
5. 512-month transition (to June 2026) for existing institutions to regularise and obtain authorisation
6. 6CBE supervision and enforcement: reporting, inspection, refusal, suspension and revocation