Commercial International Bank (CIB) has secured preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Egypt to launch yomo, a digital banking platform targeting consumers and small businesses in Egypt and among Egyptians living abroad.
The approval marks the first major regulatory milestone for yomo following Egypt’s introduction of its digital banking framework in 2023. The platform must now complete further regulatory and operational requirements before it can begin serving customers.
These include validating its technology infrastructure, testing cybersecurity controls, demonstrating regulatory compliance and operational resilience, and completing customer journey preparations. Final approval from the Central Bank of Egypt will be required before the bank can launch commercially.
Rather than converting an existing CIB offering into a digital platform, yomo has been developed as a digital-first banking proposition. The platform is designed to provide customers with access to banking services through digital channels, while targeting growing demand from consumers and small and micro businesses.
The launch forms part of CIB’s wider five-year strategy and its efforts to expand its reach across Egypt’s consumer and small business markets. The bank has operated in Egypt for more than 50 years and is the country’s largest private-sector lender.
CIB group chief executive Hisham Ezz Al-Arab said, “I believe strongly in the commercial opportunity the launch of yomo offers to CIB’s shareholders as part of our already announced five-year strategy and CIB’s ambition in supporting the launch of yomo is to make it easier for Egyptians everywhere to experience a fully digital banking experience. Egypt’s banking industry is poised to benefit from the increased growth opportunities we are seeing across the mass consumer and small and micro business segments, and the yomo digital banking platform places CIB at the centre of that opportunity”.
The initial approval also gives yomo a clearer route towards establishing itself in Egypt’s expanding digital banking market, although the remaining regulatory work means a commercial launch is still subject to further approval.
yomo CEO Rashwan Hammady added, “Securing our initial licence is a defining milestone, but it is the beginning of the journey, not the destination. We are building a bank that respects people’s time, speaks their language and helps them move forward with greater confidence and control. Our ambition is to set a new benchmark for digital banking in Egypt by combining simple and intuitive experiences with intelligent support that helps customers make better financial decisions. We look forward to revealing much more about the yomo brand and the experience we are creating later this year.”
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