EGYPT Law and Practice Contributed by: Ibrahim Shehata, Hesham Kamel, Hana ElBarbary and Dima Mazen, Shehata & Partners
Service provider obligations Service providers must: • keep and store records of information sys - tems or technology for 180 days; • maintain the confidentiality of stored data; • not disclose data without a justified judicial order; and • secure data and information to preserve con - fidentiality and prevent damage. Coverage The Cybercrimes Law covers offences related to the digital economy, including violations of con - fidentiality, integrity, and availability of computer data, computer-related offences, and privacy infringements. Fintech Law Law No 5 of 2022, known as the “Fintech Law”, came into effect in February 2022. It aims to include the non-banking sector in the digital market and encourage a cashless society. The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) supervises and regulates non-banking financial activities. Key definitions • Non-banking activities: financial markets and tools supervised by the FRA, including capital markets, insurance, real estate finance, finan - cial leasing, factoring, SME financing, and consumer finance. • Financial technology: modern technology used in the non-banking financial sector to support financial services, financing, and insurance activities through applications, software, digital platforms, AI, or electronic records. Licensing requirements Companies in non-banking financial activities using financial technology must do the following:
• determine direct and indirect shareholding structure and related parties; • provide necessary technological infrastruc - ture, IT, and security means; and • limit activities to those specified in the FRA- issued licence. New Banking Law Egypt issued the New Banking Law No 194 of 2020, replacing the old Banking Law No 88 of 2003, to integrate the banking system into the digital economy. The law introduces digital banks, cashless payments, payment service providers, payment systems operators, crypto - currency, and e-money. Financial technology and electronic payments The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) permits finan - cial technology and electronic payment services, including: • payment aggregators and facilitators; • payment services using prepaid cards; and • standards for contactless payments. Licensing and regulations The New Banking Law sets out licensing condi - tions and the main rules for operating payment systems, defining: • payment systems – means and procedures for settling funds electronically; • financial technology – technology-based business, applications or financial products; and • payment services – services related to account information, payment orders, and operations, including issuing and managing payment tools and electronic money.
58
CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook