NBE Commits EGP 150M into Newly Acquired Fintech Startup Momken

The National Bank of Egypt is set to pump EGP 150 million of funds towards developing the infrastructure network modernising digital banking in Momken, a fintech company, after the recent acquisition of 75% of its shares and changing its trademark to ‘Al-Ahly Momken’.

The acquisition comes as part of the overarching plan to democratise all forms of digital banking services provided by the NBE to its customers. This will be done through the utilisation of new technologies, cash in and out services as well as corporate services for all types of bank cards within a period ranging between 3 to 4 months after obtaining a PCI certificate.

Samir Abu Hashem, CEO of Momken, stated that the startup also plans to provide lending and saving services, implementing deposit operations for the benefit of consumers as well as merchants, so that it effectively executes the role of a bank agent for the benefit of the National Bank. It also intends to collect client installments of its sister company, ‘Al-Ahly Tamkeen’, for microfinance services. He also added that the implementation of the transferring shares ownership to NBE took place during the middle of Ramadan, with the value of the deal amounted to about EGP 97 million, explaining that 5 new representatives from the bank were appointed to the Momken’s board of directors, bringing them to 8 members.

Prior to it’s Al-Ahly Momken rebrand, Momken was founded in 2011 and provided electronic financial services like electronic payment services, charging phone balances, or paying mobile, internet, and electricity bills.

The recent acquisition targets ‘Al-Ahly Momken’ to reach EGP  1 billion in volume of transactions per month by the end 2021, as well as the publication of 40,000 additional points of sale in agreement with NBE during the second half of the current year, ultimately raising the total number of points of sale owned by the entity to 55,000 indicating doubled volumes of operations since December 2020.