EGYPT Trends and Developments Contributed by: Dina Kamel, Helal El Hossary, Farida Tawfik and Ahmed Ammar, Zaki Hashem
Zaki Hashem 23 Kasr El Nil Street Cairo 11211 Egypt Tel: +20 2 2399 9999; +20 2 2393 3766 Fax: +20 2 2393 3585 Email: clientdevelopment@hashemlaw.com Web: www.hashemlaw.com
Regulatory Environment Operational regulatory bodies
Towards the implementation of this FRA strategy, the legislator issued Law No 5 of 2022, governing the regulation and development of the use of financial technology in the provision of non-banking financial services (the “FinTech Law”). Personal data protection centre On 13 July 2020, the long-awaited Law No 151 of 2020 promulgating the Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) was published in the Official Gazette. As per Article 3 of the Issuance Articles of the PDPL, personal data held by the CBE and entities subject to its supervision, except for money transfer companies and currency exchange companies, are excluded from its application. However, any entity offering banking services, including any payment services regulated by the CBE, is subject to the requirements of the CBE with regard to the confidentiality of its customers’ per - sonal data, as well as transactional data, in accord - ance with the CBE Law and the CBE’s Board Decrees. The PDPL and its Executive Regulations, issued on 1 November 2025, have established the Personal Data Protection Centre (PDPC), which regulates the col - lection, holding and processing of personal data as defined in the PDPL. Contrary to banking services, NBFS subject to the supervision of the FRA are regulated by the PDPL, including requirements relating to lawful processing, cross-border data transfers and direct marketing, as well as restrictions on cross-border data transfer or data hosting outside Egypt.
Banking and non-banking financial services in Egypt have become an important pillar of the Egyptian econ - omy, and each category thereof is regulated by a dif - ferent regulator with its own set of rules and guidelines – aiming at the expansion of such services as well as ensuring financial inclusion of less privileged consum - ers and small businesses. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) is the regulatory body overseeing banking services in accordance with the Egyptian Constitution and Law No 194 of 2020 (the “CBE Law”). Through progressive regulations and enabling initiatives, the CBE affirms its belief in fintech as a key driver of financial inclusion, efficiency and digital transformation. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) is the regu - latory body responsible for the regulation and super - vision of capital markets, as well as of non-banking financial activities markets and instruments (NBFS), in accordance with the Egyptian Constitution and Law No 10 of 2009 (the “FRA Law”). Some of the NBFS regulated by the FRA include capital markets, insur - ance activities, mortgage finance, financial leasing, factoring, the financing of medium, small and micro- enterprises and consumer finance. In addition to the foregoing, the FRA also regulates futures exchanges and securitisation. The strategy of the FRA aims at enhancing financial inclusion, expanding the ben - eficiary base of non-banking financial activities and improving their efficiency, and reducing the costs required to benefit from these activities and services.
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