The SMART Newsroom

SMART Digital Services took part in Cairo ICT 2026, the largest technology and communications exhibition in Egypt and Africa. This year’s participation carried special significance, as it coincided with the company’s celebration of 21 years since its founding and a distinguished journey supporting Egypt’s digital transformation since 2005. At its booth, SMART showcased the latest developments in its electronic payment services, subsidy systems, and digital government services. The company’s team met a large number of visitors and partners from government bodies, banks, and technology companies, and held talks on new partnerships expected to be announced soon.

Eng. Tarek Mallash, Chairman of Smart Card Applications (Smart), said the company processes about 14 million transactions a day across Egypt’s bread and food-subsidy systems, while Damen has 200,000 direct beneficiaries. He spoke to Al-Ahram Gate on the sidelines of Cairo ICT 2025, describing the company’s participation as a chance to showcase upgraded services and sign new partnerships whose results will be announced soon. Smart is marking its 20th anniversary this year. Mallash noted that the company is now directly connected to banks and that its investments are growing every year, and he announced the start of a new phase of growth and expansion. On data protection, Mallash said: “For us, security is non-negotiable.” He added that the system is fully secured and that a dedicated team continuously monitors emerging threats. Mallash predicted an unprecedented boom in 2026, driven by major partnerships and agreements to be announced soon that will double the number of beneficiaries and reshape Egypt’s digital payments landscape. He described the government as the main driver of digitization in Egypt and praised InstaPay as proof of the Egyptian market’s maturity. He also said the company sees itself as a technology school that trains young people and opens doors to jobs for them. His advice to young people entering the sector was to set clear goals and keep training rather than approaching the field haphazardly.

"SMART Digital Services achieves to process around 450 million transactions per month through its electronic systems by the end of 2026, up from roughly 400 million today. AbdelRaouf Hussein, Chief Executive Officer of SMART, highlighted the role of artificial intelligence in building more advanced financial applications, as the company continues to expand its payment and e-government platforms serving millions of Egyptians every day."