In a move that opens up broad horizons for the use of technology and digital solutions in non-banking financial activities in Egypt, the Financial Regulatory Authority, headed by Dr. Islam Azzam, issued its approval to start the actual live testing of the first two projects within the Regulatory Laboratory for Technological Applications (FRA-Sandbox) out of 7 projects that initially joined the laboratory during its first year.

The Authority decided to grant the two projects approval for live actual testing for a period of 3 months, renewable, in accordance with the operational plan agreed upon with the owners of the two projects, in accordance with what was approved by the Committee for Deciding on Applications for the Use of Financial Technology in Non-Banking Activities.

The first project is “Remote Damage Assessment and Inspection in the Field of Supplementary Car Insurance” presented by “GIG Egypt”, which is a new model for remote inspection instead of traditional field visits to assess damage to cars, with the aim of speeding up insurance processes, shortening the claims cycle, enhancing transparency and accuracy, saving field inspection costs for parties involved in the insurance process, and improving customer experience.

The second project involves creating a digital identity using the ePassport electronic passport, provided by Luminsoft in partnership with Azimut. This includes verifying the identity of foreigners using mobile devices equipped with NFC (Near Field Communication) technology to read and verify electronic passports according to the PKD (Public Key Directory) standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The aim is to allow non-Egyptians to benefit from insurance products, investment platforms, and other non-banking financial services offered within Egypt.

Dr. Islam Azzam, Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, praised the growing cooperation between the Authority’s Regulatory Laboratory and innovative technology solution companies for the development of non-banking financial activities, stressing that the Authority established the Regulatory Laboratory a year ago to become an open, flexible and safe incubator, enabling market participants and entrepreneurs to test and improve their innovative solutions and ensure their compliance with legislative and regulatory frameworks.

He added that the Authority seeks to transform the Regulatory Laboratory into a leading regional center in its field, and to contribute to consolidating the position of the Egyptian non-banking financial sector at the international level, through its interactive activities that bring together technological innovators, startups, major investors, research centers and universities, not only by providing an experimental regulatory environment, but also through regulatory support and guidance, raising awareness of relevant laws and regulatory decisions, disseminating knowledge, and organizing innovative initiatives and competitions.

The head of the authority stressed the great attention that the authority pays to financial technology to enable companies to develop their services and products to keep pace with economic and social needs and developments, which leads to the flourishing and deepening of activities, while putting in place controls to protect customers and ensure data security and market stability.

For his part, Engineer Ahmed Khalifa, Executive Director of the Regulatory Sandbox (FRA-Sandbox), said that the live actual testing of the “Remote Car Damage Inspection and Assessment” and “Electronic Passport” projects is considered the beginning of a new phase in the Regulatory Sandbox’s journey one year after its establishment, and represents an incentive for investors and innovators to contribute with the lab to accelerate digital transformation and promote sustainable financial inclusion.

He explained that the lab has so far received 49 projects and has issued initial approval for 7 projects, including the two projects that have actually started testing, in addition to providing regulatory guidance to 45 entities, which contributes to evaluating the feasibility of solutions and their compatibility with regulatory and supervisory frameworks before offering them on a wider scale in the market. The lab also launched a series of workshops and seminars to spread the culture and means of cybersecurity and the digitization of financial solutions.

Khalifa noted that the Regulatory Laboratory will soon organize an event to review the most prominent achievements during its first year, as part of the ongoing communication with experts, private sector institutions and startups in the sectors subject to the supervision of the Financial Regulatory Authority.