Will Egypt's Baraka Bank Make Bitcoin More Popular?

     Governments and banking institutions are tightening their grip on the wealth of people around the world. Citizens are concerned about protectionism, anti-money laundering, and military exercises. Just recently, British Prime Minister David Cameron talked about monitoring methods that can help curb people from avoiding taxes. This problem is growing around the world, and financial institutions are very cooperative with fiscal austerity policies. Egypt's Barakah Bank has just announced its SAS (Statistical Analysis System) anti-money laundering solution, which will be rolled out in all its branches.

     Banks are trying to make it more difficult and complicated for ordinary citizens to transfer wealth. This is a solid proof of how protocols like Bitcoin can become more popular and how people can use non-bank means to circumvent strict regulations. As the regulatory process becomes more technological and complex, Baraka Bank wants people's money to be under the supervision of the government. "The increasing complexity of today's regulatory environment was a key factor in the implementation of the SAS FATCA solution within the bank both domestically and internationally," said Adel Mohammed Ahmed Elalem , Chief Information Officer of Baraka Bank in Egypt. "This solution allows us to effectively meet complex financial and regulatory requirements, including improving the efficiency of the reporting process by directly automating the reporting process to international tax services." Baraka Bank has partnered with SAS and Data Gear to implement the FATCA solution in the country.

     These initiatives may help decentralized currencies like Bitcoin become more popular in Egypt. Local Bitcoins and Mycelium Local Trader are available locally in Egypt, and many people in Egypt believe in digital currencies. For example, Omar El Fata, CEO of AMECO , the largest manufacturer of injection needles in Cairo , believes that Bitcoin can help the country's emerging industrial solutions. Egyptian residents can also use YellowPay, a Bitcoin voucher service provided by a Jordanian company . In Egypt, the regulation of virtual currencies is still in a gray area, but services and organizations supporting virtual currencies have suddenly emerged. If the government and traditional banks impose fiscal austerity measures on every transaction or deposit, more and more people will eventually abandon their banking platforms.

     Egypt's Barakah Bank knows that the country's technological development will continue to grow and that it will need to protect its interests through stricter financial regulatory systems. The bank's vice chairman of the board said that they will actively promote this solution so that the bank can best cope with the latest technologies in the financial field. By implementing the latest FACTA solution, Barakah Bank will be able to more easily comply with the regulatory requirements of the US Internal Revenue Service in the country and internationally.

     As time goes on, more and more national leaders and banks will impose stricter regulations on their citizens and businesses. Bitcoin is increasingly becoming better at protecting assets from intrusive surveillance and the plundering of wealth. As banks like Egypt’s Baraka begin to implement new policies and platforms to monitor and audit people’s funds within the bank, more and more people will abandon traditional banks. Bitcoin will allow users to manage their own wealth and avoid the regulation of governments and financial entities that want to tax every penny people earn. Cryptocurrency is the solution for people who want to avoid these measures today, whether living in Egypt or anywhere else in the world.