The product, called M-Wallet, is expected to extend the reach of BNP Paribas to rural areas by offering the ability to transfer money and at some point pay bills via mobile phone. Orascom Telecom, a major stakeholder in Mobinil, unveiled a similar service in Pakistan in 2009.
Philippe Joannier, head of territory and Mdof BNP Paribas Egypt, said: “We are expecting by the end of the month or the middle of March at a maximum, to have an authorisation to deal and to set up a system of mobile banking.
Reportedly, only 10% of the population have a bank account in Egypt but there are more than 55 million mobile telephone subscriptions of the 78 million people. Against this back drop, building a mobile banking network would not be easy. Mr Joannier said: “In the last two years we have been strongly developing the retail side. I think that a retail banking network takes about 10 years to develop,” reported the news agency.
So far, BNP Paribas had focused on corporate banking and fixed income and, to a lesser extent, custody operations that safeguard stocks and bonds for investors, in Egypt.
