The approvals span trading, custody, SME financing, and insurance, as regulators expand the use of technology across financial services.

Egypt is widening the role of financial technology within its regulated financial system.

Why You Should Care

This move reflects how fintech is being integrated into core financial activities under regulatory oversight.

For companies, it creates clearer pathways to operate using digital infrastructure. For the broader market, it signals continued momentum toward financial inclusion and digital transformation, particularly in non-banking financial services.

Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), chaired by Dr. Islam Azzam, has approved six companies to carry out non-banking financial activities using fintech applications.

The approvals include the establishment of Valu for financing small and medium enterprises as a startup in the field of financial technology

Additionally, CFH and Beltone Holding were approved to provide custody activities using fintech systems. These services will be enabled through Vlens, which specializes in electronic verification.

Meanwhile, Cairo Capital Securities and Al Ahly Pharos for Securities Brokerage & Investment Banking received approval to practice securities trading. It will use financial technology fields, through Vlens for electronic verification. This aims to enhance the efficiency of trading operations and keep pace with digital developments in the capital market.

In parallel, Orient Insurance secured preliminary approval to join the FRA’s regulatory sandbox. The company is developing a project that uses technology to remotely assess and evaluate motor insurance damages.

The Committee for the Establishment and Licensing of Companies (لجنة تأسيس وترخيص الشركات الخاضعة), under the supervision of the Financial Regulatory Authority, granted these approvals. The committee was set up under FRA Chairman Decision No. 3060 (2023). 

It is responsible for approving the establishment and licensing of companies operating in non-banking financial services under the FRA’s supervision. Additionally, it handles requests to add activities and mechanisms for companies in the non-banking financial sector. 

It also approves the opening, relocation, or closure of branches for non-banking financial companies. It also processes requests related to liquidation and temporary or voluntary suspension of operations. In addition to the registration, renewal, or removal of company founders’ agents.

The Ripple

The approvals extend beyond the individual companies involved.

They reinforce the role of digital verification providers such as Vlens in enabling fintech adoption across regulated activities, particularly in trading and custody.

For the wider market, this signals a shift toward digitized financial operations, where services such as custody, trading, and insurance increasingly rely on embedded technology.

What to Watch

Market attention will be on how fintech-enabled operations are implemented across approved activities.

This includes the use of digital verification systems in trading and custody, as well as progress within sandbox-led projects in insurance.