Egypt signs protocol to give banks access to commercial registry data

Egypt’s Central Bank (CBE) and the Ministry of Supply signed a cooperation protocol on Sunday, enabling the banking sector to electronically access consolidated commercial registry data, including the unified commercial registration number.

The signing ceremony was attended by CBE Governor Hassan Abdalla and Minister of Supply Sherif Farouk, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, as part of the state’s broader efforts to enhance financial inclusion for companies and support entrepreneurship.

Speaking at the occasion, Abdalla said the protocol will improve the quality of data on companies of all sizes, giving them broader access to financial services. He added that the move aligns with the state’s vision for sustainable economic growth and is expected to boost the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and create more job opportunities.

The agreement is a key step towards completing the CBE’s national financial inclusion database for companies, which aims to provide banks with accurate and up-to-date information on businesses, covering economic sectors, legal form, ownership, and management structure, capital, and geographic distribution.

This data will allow banks to process services faster, build clearer company profiles, assess risks more effectively, make more precise credit decisions, and design specialised products for a wider range of businesses — particularly micro and small enterprises and those owned or managed by women. It will also support efforts to bring the informal sector into the formal economy.

The protocol is also expected to support gender equality, reduce financing gaps, improve Egypt’s rankings in international business environment indices, and advance the goals of the National Sustainable Development Strategy, Egypt Vision 2030.

Attribution: Amwal Al Ghad English

Subediting: Y.Yasser