As a young freelancer Asser Fawzi, CEO, and Founder of AevaPay, faced first-hand the inconveniences that arose with money transactions in Egypt in banks, stores, and even with online payments and customer service. He found that Egypt was lacking in electronic alternatives to traditional paper methods. He founded AevaPay as a platform that would offer people a cost-efficient, transparent, and hassle-free means of sending and receiving money, paying daily bills, and saving money. 

AevaPay was launched in January 2022 and is among  Egypt’s first dedicated mobile payment solutions. It was created to eliminate the frustrations many customers face when they deal with traditional banking services. The app’s scan merchant QR Code feature allows users to make purchases at partner stores which include kiosks, restaurants, and retailers in a matter of seconds, no cards or cash needed.

Only an estimated 32.8% of Egypt’s population of 64.7 million people over the age of 15, hold bank accounts, leaving the majority cash-dependent. Inclusivity was the main driver in the app’s model, given that an estimated 67% of the Egyptian population remains unbanked, a key hallmark of the app is that users do not need to have bank accounts. 

The app facilitates P2P transactions and eliminates the need to carry cash, in line with Egypt’s financial inclusion initiative that was launched to address the fact that only 45% of payments in Egypt are cashless transactions. The app is also user-friendly and easy to use, which surmounts the hurdles many faces when attempting to connect with businesses in their communities. 

Prior to founding AevaPay, Fawzi had six years of experience in market analysis, blockchain technologies, FinTech products, and management. He is also an active angel investor in FinTech, logistics tech, and mobility tech companies and is expanding his portfolio. During the process of finalizing the acquisition of CreditGO, he met AevaPay’s CTO, Mohamed El Helow, and CPO, Omar El Welely. 

‘’We are working on transforming this cash reliant society into a cashless one to explore the many benefits that can offer. Why worry about change or spend more time than you should in queues when that time can be put to better use? At AevaPay, we are also trying to end the chain of transactions we started at CreditGO to be able to provide the end-user maximum benefits.’‘ Welely said.

Welely has more than seven years of experience in FinTech and mobile wallets as a Product Manager and has experience starting a merchant wallet in the Middle East.

‘’I like to focus on not only the details but the big picture with AevaPay, we always like to think about how customers think, what they would like to see, and try to work towards providing that for them, it’s integral to know you are building for different people and not just what you like. The FinTech space in Egypt is moving fast and it is ripe for opportunities, and I believe that it can provide a lot of ease for many individuals all around the country when it comes to money inconveniences,” El Helow told Waya.

El Helow has over ten years of experience as a CTO building mobile wallets and payment platforms. He has experience in integration with third parties and passed the PCI DDS certifications.

Fawzi believes the AevaPay team is uniquely capable of executing the company’s vision of building a fully digital cashless seamless system to provide complete convenience in all financial areas. ‘’Along with our experience, our team is customer-focused and is always striving to better develop the experience while putting security as a priority, and innovating to work on financial awareness. Education is important when it comes to new dealings with money. People think about money and want to be, safe.“

What he believes differentiates AevaPay from similar apps is that “we are customer-oriented, built to gather all services under one roof to adapt to market needs and innovate in the Egyptian FinTech field”, Fawzi added.

The company is focused on Egypt in the near future and plans on expanding partner retailers across all governorates but has its sights set on expanding into the MENA region in the future. The app’s roadmap includes school and university fees, instalments, donation services, insurance companies, transportation, e-payments, investment programs, card issuance, and an AevaPay store. The AevaPay team is looking to create a fully digital hassle-free financial ecosystem, trying to make users’ experiences seamless by eliminating the need to have cash on hand.