The Government of Egypt and MasterCard are teaming up to roll out a digital ID digital programme that will link the citizens’ national ID to the country’s existing mobile money platform.
The system will enable the government issue digital ID cards which can be used to pay for a numbers of services including government fees, mobile bills, merchant purchases and domestic remittances. MasterCard has concluded a similar partnership with Nigeria, with eID – a biometric-based verification card with the electronic payment functionality on it. The card will also serve as a proof of identity to Nigerians 16 years and older.
“With Egypt’s mobile penetration rate at more than 100 per cent and an existing interoperable national mobile money platform, this collaboration with MasterCard will provide millions of Egyptians with access to an innovative, safe and simple way to conduct financial transactions using their national ID card” H.E. Atef Helmy, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said.
It is a splendid idea as the card will provide millions of citizens (majority who may not have had access to a banking product) with the security, convenience and reliability of electronic payments. However, sensitive information like data of millions of citizens should ideally not be in the hand of foreign private companies. What happens when there’s is a security breach?
In the same vein, MasterCard will work with the Egypt’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to build an innovation center in Cairo that will house the card scheme’s latest technologies and make them available in the market.
