Mastercard, Banque Misr, and Money Fellows have combined infrastructures to build and launch Egypt’s first ROSCA prepaid card. That is to say, the prepaid card is designed specifically for users of the popular Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA) model.
The prepaid card is known as the Money Follows Prepaid Card. Money Fellows is a mobile app for money circles and a leading digital savings platform in Egypt. The platform is also known as the ROSCA model.
This prepaid card will enable Money Fellows to transform how Egyptians manage and access group savings, providing greater flexibility and inclusivity in personal finance. Egypt is a country where 71.5% of the population is formally included in the financial system.
So, the shared commitment to advancing financial inclusion by these Fintech firms will eventually "expand access to secure financial services, especially for youth and underserved communities."
How it works
The Money Fellows's prepaid card offers a modern, seamless way for participants to access their ROSCA funds. In other words, the prepaid card gives users the ability to withdraw and utilize their savings instantly, making the card an essential payment tool for financial empowerment across Egypt.
By integrating Money Fellows’ digital platform with Mastercard’s global payments technology and Banque Misr’s financial expertise, the initiative makes group saving safer, faster, and more efficient.
"By launching the Money Fellows prepaid card, we are supporting Egypt’s efforts to expand access to secure financial services through tailored solutions, especially for youth and underserved communities,' said Adam Jones, Executive Vice President and Division President for West Arabia, Mastercard.
The partnership aligns with Egypt’s Vision 2030 strategy to promote financial inclusion and encourage digital transformation in the financial sector.
This new announcement builds on the success of a partnership in 2021, when Mastercard teamed up with Money Fellows to bring the traditional money circles, or ROSCA concept, into the digital world. Together, they introduced innovative digital services that helped grow Egypt’s digital economy.
Features of the ROSCA Prepaid Card
The ROSCA's Prepaid Card comes with many amazing financial inclusion features. Here are the key features of the ROSCA prepaid card launched by Mastercard, Banque Misr, and Money Fellows:
- Instant Access to Funds: You can instantly access your ROSCA savings as soon as you receive your share in the cycle.
- Ease of Transactions: You can use the card for various transactions, including shopping online, paying bills, and making in-store purchases.
- No Need for a Bank Account: You can use the prepaid card without a traditional bank account. This is promoting financial inclusivity in Egypt.
- Seamless Integration: The card is integrated with the Money Fellows platform, making it easy to manage and withdraw funds directly from ROSCA.
- Security: Built on Mastercard’s secure payment technology, this ensures transactions are safe, fast, seamless, and reliable.
- Financial Empowerment: This ROSCA's prepaid card provides you with the ability to manage your savings more efficiently and participate in Egypt’s growing digital economy.
- Convenience: It helps simplify the process of accessing ROSCA funds without delays or additional intermediaries.
- Promotes Digital Economy: It encourages more users to embrace digital financial tools, which will eventually contribute to the country’s broader economic goals.
- Wide Acceptance: The card can be used at millions of Mastercard-accepting merchants and ATMs globally.
As the ROSCA prepaid card rolls out, it is expected to have a profound impact on personal finance in Egypt. It marks a new era of collaboration between traditional banking (Banque Misr) and fintechs (MasterCard and Money Fellows). This is demonstrating how technology can bridge gaps in financial accessibility.
