Egypt's central bank issues updated customer due-diligence guidelines for banks, folding in eKYC

Egypt's central bank issues updated customer due-diligence guidelines for banks, folding in eKYC

4 October 2026: The Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) has issued updated customer due-diligence guidelines that bind banks operating in Egypt and their foreign branches, according to a report by Enterprise on 4 October 2026. The guidelines, issued through the central bank's anti-money-laundering unit, bring the rules up to date with practices adopted since 2020, including electronic know-your-customer (eKYC) onboarding.

Not yet independently verified. Single source: one Egyptian business outlet's report of the circular. We have not read the Central Bank of Egypt's circular itself, and its date and effective date are not stated in the report. We will update this when it can be confirmed, and remove this note.

What the guidelines cover

According to the report, the guidelines set a risk-based approach to accepting customers, general rules for opening accounts, and conditions for banks to rely on third-party banking agents to carry out due diligence. Full due diligence applies to occasional transactions above USD 15,000, whether made in one go or in linked transactions. Below that threshold, banks must still collect and verify basic identity data. Cross-border wire transfers must always be verified, whatever the amount.

The update follows the central bank board's approval of eKYC rules in August 2026, which allowed customers to be onboarded remotely.

Who is affected

Banks in Egypt and their branches abroad first of all. Indirectly: identity-verification and eKYC vendors that serve Egyptian banks, fintechs that onboard customers through a bank partner, and banking-agent networks that perform checks on banks' behalf.

What to do

1. Banks: compare onboarding and transaction-monitoring flows with the new thresholds, in particular how linked transactions are added up towards USD 15,000.
2. Review agent agreements, since reliance on third-party agents for due diligence now has its own rules.
3. eKYC vendors: check that your product records the evidence the guidelines expect for remote onboarding, and that it supports risk-based tiers.
4. Fintechs with bank partners: ask your partner bank what changes it will pass on to your onboarding flow, and by when.
5. Obtain the circular itself from the CBE or your compliance adviser for the exact wording and effective date.

Why it matters for buyers

Egypt has been building a remote-onboarding framework for banks and fintechs in stages. Clear due-diligence rules that recognise eKYC make digital onboarding easier to approve, but they also set a firm baseline that vendors' products must evidence. For identity and onboarding software sold in Egypt, the guidelines are now part of the specification.

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Sources

• Enterprise (EnterpriseAM Egypt): The CBE issued updated anti-money laundering rules binding on banks and their foreign branches - 4 October 2026