Officials from The Central Bank of Kenya recently visited Egypt on a benchmarking trip aimed at understanding the country’s pioneer unified payment model for all banks.
During the trip, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) officials engaged their Kenyan counterparts on the Instant Payment Network (IPN) and the InstaPay application which have been piloted in Egypt.
A statement issued by the CBE documenting the trip by CBK’s delegation stated that Kenya’s specialized technical team delved into understanding the InstaPay application’s functionality and the swift transaction processing within the IPN.
The Instant Payment Network (IPN) and the Instapay App are a national network linking all operating banks within the Arab Republic of Egypt.
IPN allows bank customers to manage their bank accounts, finalise transfers with any bank through one application, and complete real-time instant financial transactions regardless of the time.
Further, the CBE explained that the visit by Kenya’s Central Bank was in a bid for Kenya to capitalise on digital payments through a unified system.
“Additionally, the visit reflects the keenness of African countries to capitalize on Egypt’s leading expertise in the Digital Payments field, particularly the Instant Payment systems and the InstaPay application, launched in accordance with the best international practices, ”stated the CBE as quoted by Egyptian media outlets.
The model which was developed in 2022 is also expected to undergo an upgrade of new services to the Instant Payment Network, including, but not limited to, card-less cash withdrawals from ATMs, purchases through merchants’ electronic Point of Sale Terminals and smartphone applications.
According to Egypt’s apex bank, these services are set to be launched subsequently later this year.
A spot check by Kenyans.co.ke revealed that the Egyptian service offers also allow customers to link all their bank accounts through one mobile app.
Customers are also allowed to transfer funds to their mobile wallets and all different types of cards including credit cards.
Further, customers are also able to request for mini statements and balance inquiries.
