As part of its ongoing commitment to strengthening cooperation with African central banks and promoting financial integration across the continent, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) hosted two high-level delegations from the Bank of Ghana to exchange expertise in digital transformation, artificial intelligence (AI), data governance, financial technology, and cybersecurity.
The visits reflect the CBE’s strategic efforts to support capacity building among African central banks while fostering the adoption of advanced technologies and best practices that contribute to the development of resilient and innovative financial systems.
Digital Transformation and Artificial Intelligence
During the first visit, which extended over several days, the Ghanaian delegation reviewed Egypt’s experience in implementing an integrated data management system, with a focus on data governance, advanced analytics, and the application of Supervisory Technology (SupTech) and Regulatory Technology (RegTech).
The discussions highlighted the CBE’s use of artificial intelligence to support monetary policy formulation, inflation forecasting, and labor market analysis. The delegation was also introduced to the Bank’s initiatives aimed at enhancing supervisory and oversight mechanisms, improving data collection and analytical processes, and deploying AI-powered chatbots to increase operational efficiency and strengthen institutional performance.
Advancing Egypt’s Digital Payments Ecosystem
The delegation received a comprehensive presentation on the Central Bank of Egypt’s Digital Transformation Strategy and the country’s progress in developing a modern digital payments ecosystem.
The sessions focused on Egypt’s efforts to accelerate the transition toward a less-cash economy by expanding the national payments infrastructure, strengthening the regulatory and legislative framework, and introducing innovative digital payment services.
Participants also reviewed several of the CBE’s flagship initiatives, including the Instant Payment Network (IPN), the InstaPay application, tokenization technologies that enhance payment security, and the Digital Financial Identity (eKYC) system, which enables secure electronic customer identification and verification.
Cybersecurity Framework and Financial Sector Protection
The second delegation, whose visit lasted two days, focused on cybersecurity and marked its second official visit to the Central Bank of Egypt.
The discussions centered on the operational framework of the Egyptian Financial Sector Computer Incident Response Team (EG-FinCIRT), highlighting its role in strengthening cybersecurity preparedness and supporting secure financial innovation.
The delegation also examined the governance frameworks regulating digital financial services, as well as the authorization mechanisms applied to fintech applications and emerging technological solutions before their introduction into the Egyptian market.
Enhancing Cyber Resilience
Meetings also covered cybersecurity risk assessment methodologies and the evaluation of cyber resilience through the Egyptian Financial Cybersecurity Framework (EG-FinCSF).
The CBE presented the framework’s enhanced second edition, currently under preparation, which is designed to address the rapidly evolving global cyber threat landscape by introducing more flexible supervisory standards and advanced assessment tools aimed at strengthening the resilience of banks and financial institutions.
Strengthening African Financial Integration
The exchange visits underscore the Central Bank of Egypt’s continued commitment to expanding technical cooperation with African central banks and supporting institutional capacity building across the continent.
Through the exchange of knowledge and best practices in digital transformation, artificial intelligence, financial technology, and cybersecurity, the CBE seeks to reinforce banking cooperation and contribute to deeper financial integration among African nations.
