Cairo – Mubasher: The National Bank of Kuwait – NBK - Egypt signed a cooperation protocol with the Egyptian Banks Company for Technological Advancement (EBC) on Wednesday to officially launch Meeza prepaid card.

The protocol was signed by Amr El-Alfy, Head of Business Group at NBK; and Ahmed Rabea, CEO of EBC, according to a press release.

In this regard, Yasser El-Tayeb, NBK - Egypt Vice Chairman, Managing Director, and CEO, said that the move comes along with the bank’s strategy to boost its range of banking products, which contributes to expanding the umbrella of using electronic payment methods and channels.

He added that issuance of “Meeza” card falls in-line with the government and Central Bank of Egypt’s (CBE) direction in supporting financial inclusion and integrating new categories of customers in the official banking system. This would help in the implementation of cash withdrawal transactions and the enforcement of digital cashless society plan as one of the objectives of the sustainable development strategy in line with the vision of Egypt 2030.

El-Tayeb further noted that NBK-Egypt targets motivating its customers to use the bank’s electronic payment channels, confirming that the bank’s management spares no effort to support these alternative channels.

From his side, El-Alfy stated that “Meeza” card represents a new link in NBK-Egypt’s advanced electronic services chain, which enables customers whether individuals or companies to perform a variety of banking transactions.

On the other hand, NBK aims at increasing its footprint in Egypt by opening new branches and developing the network of the existing branches.

Meanwhile, Salma Abou Hussein, Head of Consumer Banking, said that launching “Meeza” card is a new addition to NBK-Egypt’s various cards. Consequently, the bank becomes one of the main banks operating in Egypt that offers the smart payment card that holds the logo of the Electronic Payment Network.

She added that card will also be used to pay the different governmental fees as well as cash withdrawing from the ATMs of different Egyptian Banks. “Meeza card also enables its holder to charge the card’s balance through different payroll companies,” Abou Hussein further explained.

Abou Hussein concluded by saying that the issuance of “Meeza” card is one of the main achievements in the financial inclusion sector, where it falls within CBE’s direction to transform into a digital economy. In addition, the card is considered the first smart payment card that holds the logo of the Electronic Payment Network through the EBC under the umbrella of the CBE.

The smart card will enable its users to perform transactions through the POS machines across Egypt, relying on EBC’s strong infrastructure.