The Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), chaired by Islam Azzam, has approved the launch of live testing for the first two projects under the Regulatory Sandbox for technological applications (FRA-Sandbox), out of seven projects that initially joined the sandbox during its first year.
The move opens up broad prospects for the use of technology and digital solutions in Egypt’s non-banking financial activities. The FRA has approved live testing of the two projects for three months, renewable, in accordance with the operational plan agreed upon with the entities behind the projects and pursuant to the decision of the Committee for Adjudicating Applications to Use financial technology in non-banking activities.
The first project, submitted by GIG Egypt, involves the remote inspection and assessment of damage in comprehensive motor insurance. It introduces a new model for remote inspection as an alternative to traditional field visits for assessing vehicle damage, with the aim of speeding up insurance procedures, shortening the claims cycle, enhancing transparency and accuracy, reducing field inspection costs for parties involved in the insurance process, and improving the customer experience.
The second project involves creating a digital identity using an ePassport, submitted by Lumin Soft in partnership with Azimut. The project involves verifying the identities of foreign nationals using mobile devices equipped with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology to read and authenticate electronic passports in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Public Key Directory (PKD) standards.
The project aims to enable non-Egyptians to access insurance products, investment platforms and other non-banking financial services available in Egypt. Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority Islam Azzam praised the growing cooperation between the FRA’s Regulatory Sandbox and companies developing innovative technological solutions to advance non-banking financial activities.
He said the FRA established the Regulatory Sandbox a year ago to serve as an open, flexible and secure incubator that enables market participants and entrepreneurs to test and refine their innovative solutions and ensure their compliance with legislative and regulatory frameworks.
Azzam said the FRA seeks to transform the Regulatory Sandbox into a leading regional hub in its field and to help strengthen Egypt’s non-banking financial sector’s international position. Ahmed Khalifa, Executive Director of the FRA-Sandbox, said that live testing of the two projects, 'Remote Vehicle Damage Inspection and Assessment and 'ePassport,' marks the beginning of a new phase in the Regulatory Sandbox’s development, one year after its establishment.