Selling phones on installments through a finance company: shop guide

Installments are no longer a side topic in the phone trade. Many customers walk in with one question: "What's the price on installments?" A shop that isn't ready for it loses the sale to the shop next door.

This article explains selling through consumer finance companies in plain terms: what the company does, what the shop does, what to ask before signing, and how to record the sale so your books stay clear.

Installments in the phone market, in numbers

According to the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA), customers took EGP 3.7 billion in financing to buy phones between January and October 2025, about 4.9% of all consumer finance. The FRA's report for the first quarter of 2026 puts phones at about EGP 1.7 billion of financing.

The average installment purchase in Egypt was around EGP 6,900 in January 2026, per the FRA. That is a mid-range phone, which is exactly where most shops work.

Who can offer installments at all?

Consumer finance in Egypt runs under Law 18 of 2020, as amended by Law 158 of 2022, supervised by the FRA. Only banks licensed by the Central Bank and companies licensed by the FRA can offer it. The official definition says repayment runs over a period of not less than 6 months.

So the first check is whether the company you deal with is licensed. An arrangement outside that framework is not a finance company, it is a private deal and the risk is entirely yours.

How it runs in the shop

There are several routes: installment apps, in-store plans, finance companies and bank cards. With apps, for example, the customer photographs their ID, takes a selfie and waits for a decision. If approved, they hold a spending limit to use at partner shops.

From the shop's side the general picture is usually:

1. The customer picks the phone and you tell them the price.
2. You submit their details and the phone's details to the company, in the way that company requires.
3. The company reviews the request and approves or declines.
4. If approved, the phone is handed over, with the down payment if there is one.
5. The company pays you later, according to your contract.

The exact steps differ from company to company, so ask the company's representative rather than assuming.

Ask the company before you sign

The law requires the company to disclose to the customer, before contracting, the financing amount, fees, annual rate, administrative costs and total due. Understand that so you can explain it properly. For your own relationship with the company, write your questions down and ask for written answers:

• Does the shop pay a fee or percentage to the company? How is it calculated?
• When are you paid after handover, and by what method?
• If the customer returns or exchanges the phone, what is the procedure?
• If the phone has a defect and the customer stops paying, who carries it?
• What documents are needed from the customer and from the shop?

Without these answers you can't know your real margin on an installment sale.

Work out the real margin

The installment sale price is not what lands in your pocket. What you keep after any company charges is what should be compared with the phone's cost. Use a simple rule:

1. Subtract the phone's cost (with shipping and customs if imported).
2. Subtract any fee or percentage the company takes.
3. What is left is your profit. Compare it with the same phone sold for cash.

If the gap is big, keep a clear cash price that differs from the installment price, and tell the customer from the start.

Record the sale so the books stay clear

The trouble with installments is that money arrives in pieces or late, and it's easy to forget what's been paid and what's still owed. That makes the drawer look healthy while real money is still waiting.

In the Mobilat POS a sale can be split across payment methods: cash, wallet, InstaPay and credit. So the down payment you take is recorded in its place. And if the phone is tracked by IMEI, the receipt shows the IMEI and the warranty end, which helps a lot if a dispute comes up with the customer or the company. See Catalog & barcodes for IMEI tracking.

Be straight with yourself on one thing: Mobilat has no dedicated module for finance companies. If you give installments to your own customers, you can use customer accounts and credit: each customer has an account and a credit limit, sales stop at the limit, and the aging report shows who is late. Money still owed to you by a finance company is something you follow your own way, by matching the company's statement against your sales.

Installments on customs fees for imported phones

In April 2026 the Customs Authority and NTRA announced an installment service for the fees due on phones brought in from abroad, through Valu as the first consumer finance company to offer it. So a customer with an imported phone can now split the fees themselves. It matters if you deal with customers who need to regularize imported phones. For the fees themselves, see our article on the 38.5% fee and the Telephony app.

Final tips

• Show two clear prices: cash and installments.
• Never promise approval before the company replies.
• Keep a copy of the contract with the company and the receipt of every sale.
• Match the company's statement against your records every week, not only at month end.
• The FRA published its first comprehensive guide to consumer finance rules in September 2026, so ask your company about any new changes.

Want to try the POS and customer accounts without signing up? Open the demo page.