The news
- Misr Digital Innovation, a subsidiary of Banque Misr, has received approval to rebrand and operate as Egypt’s first fully digital bank, onebank.
- The Central Bank of Egypt granted the green light on August 17, 2025, marking a new phase in the country’s push for financial digitisation.
- Set to launch in 2026, onebank will operate entirely online, with no physical branches.
Egypt’s state-owned Banque Misr is taking a major step in its digital transformation journey. Its fintech subsidiary, Misr Digital Innovation (MDI), has secured the final approval from the Central Bank of Egypt to rebrand and launch as onebank, the country’s first fully digital-native bank.
The approval, issued on Sunday, August 17, 2025, clears the path for onebank to begin public operations by 2026. The new digital bank will offer all its services entirely through online and mobile platforms, bypassing the traditional brick-and-mortar model that has long defined the region’s banking landscape.
For Banque Misr — founded in 1920 and one of Egypt’s oldest and most influential financial institutions — the launch of onebank symbolises an effort to stay ahead in a rapidly digitising economy. The state-owned bank has already made digital strides with services like mobile wallets and internet banking. But onebank represents a full leap into digital banking, targeting a younger, tech-savvy demographic and Egypt’s large unbanked population.
MDI, founded in 2020 to drive Banque Misr’s digital expansion, was created to respond to shifts in consumer expectations and financial access. Egypt, like many African countries, has witnessed growing demand for digital financial solutions, especially among underserved communities. The central bank has encouraged such innovation as part of its broader financial inclusion strategy.
With the greenlight secured, onebank now joins a small but growing list of fully digital banks across Africa, a model that’s gaining traction in countries like Nigeria and South Africa. These digital banks typically promise lower operating costs, quicker account opening, and broader financial reach, often bypassing the high overheads of traditional banks.
A new board of directors has been appointed to lead onebank, but specific details about the bank’s product offerings or digital infrastructure have not yet been released. Still, expectations are high. The bank is projected to bring more competition into Egypt’s retail banking space and influence how legacy banks approach innovation.
By bridging its century-old heritage with future-ready banking tools, Banque Misr is attempting what many African financial institutions are still exploring — creating a digitally native entity from within, rather than relying solely on external fintech partnerships.
