Egypt Central Bank To Issue Cryptocurrencies

The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Thursday allowed banks to issue electronic currencies under its supervision, as long as each currency in the mobile payment service is equivalent to one Egyptian pound.

In its third version of the Mobile Payments Regulation, the CBE indicated that the issuance of electronic currency is limited only to banks under its supervision, which receive its prior consent for the measure.

The CBE said licensed banks will operate a system to manage electronic currency records showing the value of money spent, system users and service providers.

This system monitors payment orders in electronic currency and issues detailed reports (follow-up audits) on payment orders, and links operations with system users and service providers, the CBE said.

The regulation also states that the bank issuing the electronic units must have deposits in Egyptian pounds of value not less than that of the electronic units.

According to the CBE, these electronic currencies are stored in electronic devices or media and are accepted as a means of payment by persons or entities other than the issuing bank.

The electronic currencies must be convertible into cash (Egyptian Pounds) and will be issued in accordance with the regulations issued by the CBE.

In late March, the CBE said that all financial transactions conducted within Egypt’s banking system are restricted to currencies officially accredited by the CBE and urged all bank customers not to use high-risk cryptocurrencies.

The CBE said that cryptocurrencies carry a high level of risk dominated by wide fluctuation and instability in their price values.

He added that such coins have no physical assets; they are not supervised by any central authority and lack the official and governmental support that official currencies enjoy.