AFS Launches Egypt’s First Fully Licensed SoftPOS for Seamless Mobile Payments

Arab Financial Services has taken a notable step in Egypt’s fast‑moving digital payments scene, rolling out its SoftPOS service nationwide after securing the green light from the Central Bank of Egypt. It’s one of the first fully licensed solutions of its kind in the country, and on the surface at least, the timing feels spot on as mobile payments continue to surge.

The idea behind SoftPOS is fairly straightforward: turn any NFC‑enabled Android phone into a payment terminal. No bulky hardware, no pricey card machines… just a smartphone. For small businesses in particular, that can make all the difference. I’ve seen countless entrepreneurs across the region wrestling with unnecessary equipment costs, so this kind of shift could ease a bit of that operational faff. And believe it or not, the tech is secure enough to handle contactless cards just like traditional terminals do.

Samer Soliman, the CEO of AFS, described the launch as a “transformative milestone” for both the company and the Egyptian market. He highlighted how removing hardware costs opens the door for more merchants to join the digital economy, adding that this rollout is only the start, with more features expected soon. I reckon that focus on new use cases will be essential — Egypt’s fintech space is getting crowded, and staying ahead isn’t always a walk in the park.

What stands out here is how closely the move aligns with Egypt’s broader push for digital inclusion. Mobile payments have been growing at a pace I’ve always found impressive, especially when chatting with founders across Cairo’s startup hubs. There’s a real appetite for simple, accessible solutions, and AFS seems keen to ride that momentum. One entrepreneur once told me during an Arageek event that “if accepting payments wasn’t such a headache, half my problems would disappear” — a bit dramatic maybe, but I got what he meant.

AFS itself isn’t new to the region. The company has been around since the mid‑80s and now works with banks and financial institutions across more than 20 countries. Its portfolio stretches from digital wallets to payroll tools, and it operates under regulators in Bahrain, Egypt and the UAE. On the flip side, longevity doesn’t guarantee future success, but their regional network gives them a decent head start.

If anything, this SoftPOS launch feels like a natural extension of Egypt’s digital shift rather than a sudden leap. And well… I mean, while no single tool can magically fix every merchant’s challenge, giving businesses a cheaper, scalable way to accept payments is definately a step in the right direction.

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