The 2026 operating picture across Egypt and the Gulf is not a simple shift from cash to digital. The Central Bank of Egypt reported financial inclusion at 77.6% by the end of 2025. SAMA reported that electronic payments represented 79% of Saudi retail payments in 2024. The CBUAE reported 560.7 million POS transactions in 2025. These are strong digital-adoption signals.
Physical cash still creates a material operating workload. CBUAE reported 102.9 million ATM transactions worth AED 160.8 billion in 2025. SAMA's March 2026 statistical bulletin records 14,674 ATMs and SAR 537.5 billion in 2025 ATM cash withdrawals. Digital growth changes the shape of cash demand; it does not remove the need to authenticate, replenish, reconcile, secure, and service the remaining cash network.
For buyers, the practical question is therefore not whether cash or digital wins. It is whether branch, ATM, CIT, vault, retail deposit, and service data can be managed as one operating system. Equipment selection should follow a measured workload, while software and service architecture should expose exceptions, ownership, and lifecycle cost.
CashPrime's market view is based on that coexistence. The highest-value programmes begin with a baseline, connect the relevant cash touchpoints, and validate targets in a controlled pilot before wider rollout.