Cairo – Mubasher: Fawry for Banking Technology and Electronic Payments is looking to expand in the UAE market through entering into an agreement with one of the largest UAE banks by the end of 2019, the e-payment company’s co-founder, board member, and managing director, Mohamed Okasha, told Reuters.

The Egyptian digital payment firm also plans to offer its services in the Saudi and Kuwaiti markets in 2020 as part of the company’s plans to focus on “Arab countries where many Egyptians live whom [Fawry] can offer many services such as bill payments,” Okasha added.

Okasha denied plans to expand in African markets, noting that there is still “big growth chances” in Egypt which has a population of about 100 million.

The e-payment platform invests between EGP 250 million and EGP 300 million each year from its own resources and plans to increase the number of “Fawry plus” branches to 300 in five years from the current 70. 

During the first half of 2019, Fawry’s profits before taxes fell to EGP 47.48 million from EGP 47.69 million in the year-ago period, the company’s unaudited standalone financial indicators showed.