Hawiya, a company affiliated with the Central Bank of Egypt, is preparing to launch a pilot phase for a digital financial identity system in cooperation with a number of participating banks, following the Central Bank of Egypt’s announcement of the regulations governing digital identification services for bank customers. Engineer Tamer Gadallah, the company’s CEO and managing director, said the system would enable the creation of a unified digital financial identity linked to official databases, using approved identity and biometric data.
Hawiya does not rely on a standalone application for citizens; instead, its services will appear within the applications of participating banks. Through these channels, customers can complete procedures such as opening accounts, updating data, customer identification, and transaction authentication without visiting a branch. According to the company, the verification process takes a few minutes, while the details and steps of the registration journey will be announced more broadly at the official launch.
What Will the System Actually Provide?
The digital journey begins in the bank’s application, where the Hawiya platform is called upon to verify the customer’s data and biometric information connected to civil-status databases. After successful verification, the customer’s digital financial identity is created for subsequent use in accessing and authenticating banking services and updating data.
Verification mechanisms include facial recognition, in addition to fingerprint recognition in the case of twins, using artificial-intelligence-supported technologies, including the detection of deepfake attempts. The company also says the system enables foreigners to use the services through a passport or an Egyptian residency card.
Why Does This News Matter?
The project’s importance goes beyond providing a digital channel for opening accounts; it offers a shared identity-verification layer that can be used by digital banks and financial technology companies licensed by the Central Bank of Egypt. This connects the drive to reduce reliance on cash with the stated objectives of promoting financial inclusion by reducing the need for in-person attendance and lowering barriers for customers who do not deal with banks.
Hawiya believes the new infrastructure could help banks reduce the time and costs associated with paperwork and repeated branch visits, while also enabling customers to update their data from anywhere in the world. However, these outcomes remain expected objectives in the article, not operational indicators that have been announced yet.
Security and Open Limitations
The company says it relies on data encryption, strict access-control policies, and periodic penetration testing, and that it complies with cybersecurity standards issued by the Central Bank of Egypt. It also explained that global companies’ participation was limited to providing specialized biometric-verification tools and technologies, without controlling the infrastructure or data.
The article does not provide details about the names of the participating banks, the official launch date, or the expected usage volume. It also does not confirm that the system has obtained specific certifications such as ISO 27001 or PCI DSS; rather, it only refers to compliance with the standards of the Central Bank of Egypt. Therefore, the quality of implementation, the clarity of consent mechanisms, and data governance will remain issues requiring evaluation after the pilot phase begins.