Egypt's financial inclusion rate soars to 74.8 percent, 52 million citizens now use transaction accounts

Egypt's financial inclusion rate continues to rise, with approximately 52 million citizens currently using transaction accounts. The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) announced that the financial inclusion rate reached 74.8% by the end of 2024, a strong performance compared to similar countries. This figure represents the number of Egyptians aged 15 and over who own and actively use accounts—whether at banks, the Egyptian Postal Service, mobile wallets, or prepaid cards—for financial transactions.

The Central Bank of Egypt emphasized that the financial inclusion rate only considers citizens who actively use accounts to effectively manage their finances. This growth is attributed to the Central Bank of Egypt's cooperation with the banking sector and relevant stakeholders from various ministries and authorities to achieve economic empowerment for all segments of society, especially women, youth, people with disabilities, and entrepreneurs.

The 74.8% financial inclusion rate as of the end of 2024 represents an increase compared to approximately 70.7% at the end of 2023, reflecting a growth rate of 204% between 2016 and 2024. This progress has been achieved despite the growing base of citizens eligible to open accounts, following the Central Bank of Egypt's issuance of a circular modifying the minimum age for youth to open bank accounts from 16 to 15 years, aligning it with the age for issuing national ID cards.

Among women using transaction accounts, the number has reached 23.3 million, out of a female population of 33.9 million, representing a 295% increase compared to 2016, with the female financial inclusion rate reaching 68.8%. The financial inclusion rate for youth (15 to 35 years) has increased to 53.1%, including 39.4 million young people, representing a 65% increase between 2020 and 2024.

Financial inclusion regulations simplifying account opening for individuals and artisans using only national ID cards have led to the opening of nearly 1 million financial inclusion accounts for individuals between 2022 and 2024, in addition to 400,000 "economic activity accounts." These accounts enable these individuals to execute their financial transactions within the formal sector. This aligns with the Central Bank of Egypt's directives to focus on excluded groups to ensure they have access to financial services with appropriate quality, cost, and effective utilization of these services.

The core financial inclusion indicators issued by the Central Bank of Egypt play a vital role in effectively monitoring progress in financial inclusion rates and developing supportive policies to achieve economic empowerment for citizens, as part of national-level efforts in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and Egypt's 2030 Vision.

The growth in Egypt's financial inclusion rate in recent years reflects the increased benefits citizens derive from financial services suited to their needs, encouraging savings, facilitating financial transactions with less time and cost, and ensuring service availability anytime, anywhere. This contributes to improving citizens' livelihoods and promoting the economic empowerment of women and youth.