Algeria says it will transition to a completely cashless economy by 2028, according to an official plan led by the Bank of Algeria and its National Payments Committee. Officials say the strategy aims to modernize the financial system and expand digital payments nationwide. However, given that Algeria is overwhelmingly a cash society, with low rates of banking penetration and electronic transactions, meeting this target in less than three years will require a dramatic cultural shift and a huge regulatory and economic lift.
As introduced by the Bank of Algeria, the push includes legal reforms to enable digital payments, the entry of fintech companies and digital banks, and new oversight of transaction monitoring. The government insists this will increase transparency and financial resilience, but as of now, we remain skeptical about how quickly the authorities will enable the digitization of the currency and payments. Burecaucratic inertia has always prevented the banking sector from emerging as a driver of economic growth. A cultural change will also have to occur for Algerians—long accustomed to cash—to easily adopt digital and electronic payment methods. Most daily transactions in Algeria are still conducted in cash, making the government’s goal, while ambitious, a difficult one to achieve by the stated deadline.
