Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) Governor Hassan Abdalla highlighted the strong growth of Egypt's Instant Payment Network (IPN). Registered customers reached about 22 million at the end of the second quarter of 2026, while the total number of transactions reached about 1.47 billion, worth nearly EGP 4.33 trillion in total.

The CBE governor stressed the importance of implementing instant payment programmes in line with each country's needs and priorities and the maturity of its payment ecosystem, so as to deliver services that meet users' needs and support wider use of digital payments.

Abdalla said the next phase could focus on three main pillars: first, making instant payment services more inclusive; second, expanding use cases through instant payment systems; and third, supporting regional integration and developing cross-border payments.

He noted that the region is undergoing a rapid shift towards digital payments, reflected in the launch and development of several instant payment systems, including InstaPay in Egypt, sarie in Saudi Arabia and Aani in the United Arab Emirates.

The governor said these developments reflect the importance of inclusive instant payment programmes, whose use is expanding across the Arab region, and highlight the need to keep developing them in line with each country's priorities, alongside supporting regional integration and developing cross-border payment services.