Celebrating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and in recognition of the importance of enabling people of determination to utilize modern technology, being part and parcel of EgyptÔÇÖs society, the National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Egypt (NTRA), in cooperation with the Central Bank of Egypt, issued new instructions to mobile operators regarding mobile e-wallet services. These instructions aim to prepare and make these services accessible to users with disabilities for conducting payments and money transfers, as well as easily and safely carrying out the process of online shopping.

The instructions include enabling people of determination to subscribe to and activate mobile e-wallet services smoothly, providing mechanisms to assist them at mobile outlets through sign language interpreters or display screens for all information and procedures, as well as offering service contracts in Braille Language.

Additionally, NTRA directed telecom service providers to configure their mobile applications to meet the needs of people of determination by providing visual and audio interfaces, developing voice dictation features, and supporting assistive technologies such as screen readers to facilitate the use of payment and money transfer services via mobile phones.

This step aims to uphold financial inclusion and provide mobile e-wallet services to all segments of society on an equal basis. It also aligns with the StateÔÇÖs strategy to promote Fintech services and enable individuals to access financial services easily and securely. ItÔÇÖs worth noting that NTRA had previously launched a service to receive and resolve complaints from users with disabilities in sign language. This could be actually done through video calls via NTRAÔÇÖs website (https://tra.gov.eg), where complaints are received in sign language, followed up on, and resolved. Additionally, NTRA approved a new mobile line for users with disabilities with a 50%-discount on its monthly packages, including voice and internet services. It also approved a 50%-discount on service fees while paying utility bills via mobile e-wallets run by licensed mobile operators in EgyptÔÇÖs market. Furthermore, NTRA directed the operators to give priority to people of determination in completing all their transactions at branches without the need to wait, and to adapt branches and outlets according to the Egyptian Engineering Code to meet the needs of the people of determination.