Egypt’s Credit Agricole expands mobile banking

Credit Agricole Egypt (CAE) announced that they would increase their mobile banking services to include SMS alerts.

Bawaba reported that customers would be able to receive short text messages periodically or following major events. The event-related notifications include events such as withdrawals, transfers, the maturation of securities, and overdraws.

Mobile banking could revolutionize banking in the developing world. In 2010, the Financial Times reported that 70 percent of the population in BRIC countries—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—didn’t hold bank accounts. The vast majority does, however, have mobile phones.

The case is the same for North Africa. Egypt has an estimated 73 Million mobile phone subscribers; Morocco has more than one cell phone for each Moroccan. In small towns and cities, mobile banking could provide access to financial services absent before.