The regulation of banking services and payment services is governed by Banking Law No. 194 of 2020 ("Banking Law"). The Banking Law sets out the framework within which entities seeking to carry out the aforementioned activities must operate and requires such entities to obtain the relevant license from the CBE. The CBE regularly issues prudential regulation specific to the different types of banking and payment services, including but not limited to data protection and consumer protection regulations applicable to CBE-regulated entities, as well as the eligibility criteria and processes for obtaining the relevant licenses. The following are examples of CBE regulations:

• Technical Payment Aggregators and Payment Facilitators Regulation, issued in February 2019, regulates payment aggregators and payment facilitators, which are sub-categories of payment service providers. A payment aggregator is a company with financial solvency that provides technical services to its sub-merchants on behalf of a bank through the aggregator's alternative delivery channels. By the same token, a facilitator is a company with financial solvency that provides financial and technical services through the alternative delivery channels of its sub-merchants with which contracts have been concluded on behalf of a bank for the provision of e-payments services.
• The Rules Regulating Services for Instant Payment Network (IPN), issued in October 2021, sets out regulations applicable to entities, including IPN service providers, operating within the instant payment network. An IPN service provider is a company licensed to work with the bank as a payment service provider to provide payment services via its mobile applications in accordance with the rules of the IPN to its individual and merchant customers after obtaining the approval of the CBE.
• Use of Mobile Wallets Regulations, issued in April 2021, are the third update from the CBE to the regulations governing the offering of mobile wallet services.

On the other hand, NBFSs are regulated under a series of different laws. Generally, each type of NBFS is regulated under its own law which defines the relevant NBFS and sets out the relevant licensing requirements and general regulatory framework for the activity in question. Thus, for instance, consumer finance activities are regulated under the Consumer Finance Law No. 18 of 2020 and its executive regulations; microfinance activities are regulated under the Microfinance Law No. 141 of 2014 and its executive regulations; and financial leasing and factoring activities are governed by the Financial Leasing Law No. 176 of 2018 and its executive regulations.

Moreover, the Financial Technology (Fintech) Law No. 5 of 2022 and its executive regulations were recently published which provide the legal framework by which any company seeking to offer NBFSs using Fintech must operate and obtain the relevant approval from the FRA. The FRA recently published regulations setting out the requirements for the establishment and licensing of Fintech companies seeking to offer certain NBFSs in Egypt. This came on the heels of recently issued FRA decrees that officially recognized the concepts of "Click-to-accept" contracts and "smart contracts" for certain types of transactions as will be determined by the FRA in future decrees, and recognized and permitted the use of blockchain technology in relation to e-registration, e-signatures, and the enforcement of and ability to automatically amend certain terms of smart contracts in the NBFS sector in accordance with the requirements and security measures imposed in the relevant decrees.

In addition, the FRA, as the regulatory body responsible for supervising and regulating all entities carrying out NBFSs, regularly issues decrees setting out any additional requirements applicable to each NBFS. Any entity seeking to carry out an NBFS in Egypt must obtain the relevant license from the FRA.