The Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) board of directors approved a new regulation for mobile payment services on 29 November 2016, the bank announced on Wednesday. This decision coincides with the issuance of the “Customer Due Diligence Procedures for Mobile Payments” by the Egyptian Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Combating Unit (EMLCU). CBE deputy governor Lobna Helal highlighted that the new regulations aim to boost financial inclusion. Under these regulations, SMEs and micro enterprises will be able to pay or collect funds through their mobile accounts. The new regulations allow customers to receive family remittances into their respective mobile accounts and money transfers can be disbursed by beneficiaries through agents that are spread across the country. Ayman Hussein, the assistant sub-governor for the payment systems and business technology department in the CBE, said that as of October 2016, the volume of subscribers for mobile payment accounts had reached 6.2mn, up 60% since the launch of the mobile payment service three years ago. (The Daily News Egypt)