Raya Holding, an Egyptian investment company, has confirmed plans to launch a digital bank through Aman Holding, its financial services subsidiary, in partnership with international investors.Â
The company disclosed the plan to the Egyptian Exchange on Monday. It is still preparing the feasibility studies and documents required to apply to the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE). It has not named its prospective partners or disclosed the bank’s proposed capital, launch date, or operating model.
Explain like I’m new here: Raya has been listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) since 2005; it operates across technology, retail, manufacturing, logistics, hospitality, and financial services. Aman, its financial services arm established in 2016, offers digital payments, consumer financing, microfinance, agent banking, and SME financing. It has more than 150,000 point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and more than 250 branches. In H1 2026, Aman generated EGP 5.4 billion ($97.6 million) in revenue, up 38% year-on-year.
Egypt’s digital banking race is taking shape: Egypt has been laying the groundwork since 2023, when the CBE introduced rules for digital banks. Applicants need at least EGP 2 billion ($36 million) in paid-up capital to conduct general banking activities, rising to EGP 4 billion ($72.3 million) if they want to finance large companies. The regulator also requires a financial institution to hold at least 30% of the bank’s capital.Â
In March, Onebank, backed by state-owned Banque Misr, secured an operating licence. Qatar National Bank (QNB), one of the Middle East and Africa’s largest banking groups, also received CBE approval in October 2025 for its digital-first bank, ezbankÂ
Egypt’s financial inclusion rate reached 77.6% by the end of 2025. The opportunity lies in getting customers to do more with their digital accounts, including accessing credit or savings products.