The institutional layering arrangements of the Egyptian government’s e-payment system: An analytical case study

Abstract

This paper draws on the literature on institutional layering to explore the process of institutional change relating to the Egyptian government’s ambitious plan to embed e-payments into the country’s financial system. It utilises the concept of policy layering to explain the gradual yet significant and accumulative institutional and layering changes that have taken place in the country’s payment system policy and affected the activities of actors in the public sector. The paper analyses empirical data collected from interviews with various actors within the Egyptian government’s e-payment system. Analysis of relevant regulations and other official policy documents and reports is also considered. Following this, the paper focuses on the layering of institutional arrangements, consisting of both actors and instruments. In this way, the paper focuses on the actors responsible for the internal governance and external regulation of e-payments in Egypt.