Egypt Daily News – Banks operating in the Egyptian local market will start opening accounts for free and with no minimum balance next week in celebration of International Women’s Day.
The central bank has outlined a set of proposed activities for financial inclusion events, including allowing banks to operate outside their branches to promote suitable banking products, provided that the Banking Affairs Sector of the central bank is informed of the locations in advance.
The central bank, in previous directives, emphasized the necessity of opening accounts for new customers free of charge and with no minimum balance, as well as issuing prepaid or debit cards and encouraging their activation and use for purchases.
The financial inclusion events scheduled throughout the year include:
- Women’s Celebration from March 8 to 31, coinciding with International Women’s Day.
- Arab Financial Inclusion Day from April 1 to 30.
- Youth Celebration from August 1 to 15, marking International Youth Day.
- Farmers’ Celebration from September 1 to 15, in honor of Farmers’ Day.
- Savings Celebration from October 15 to 31, coinciding with Global Financial Inclusion Week and World Savings Day.
- People with Disabilities Celebration from December 1 to 15, in recognition of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
Financial inclusion rates have risen to 74.8% by the end of 2024, up from 70.7% at the end of 2023, with a 204% growth rate from 2016 to 2024. This increase comes despite an expansion in the number of citizens eligible to open financial accounts, following central bank regulations that lowered the minimum age for opening a bank account from 16 to 15 years, aligning with the revised age requirement for obtaining a national ID card.
The central bank revealed that the number of women using financial accounts has reached 23.3 million out of a total of 33.9 million, with a 295% growth rate compared to 2016, bringing the financial inclusion rate for women to 68.8%.
The financial inclusion rate for women has steadily increased from 19.1% in 2016 to 24.3% in 2017, then 28.2% in 2018. It further rose to 44.4% in 2019, 46.4% in 2021, 57.6% in 2022, 62.7% in 2023, and finally 68.8% by the end of 2024.
