NBE Partners with Higher Education to Automate University Fees

The National Bank of Egypt (NBE) collaborated with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to start the automation of payment for three private universities, including King Salman University, Galala University and Al-Alamein International University.

Hisham Okasha, Chairman of the National Bank of Egypt said in a statement on Thursday that the partnership aims to further activate the bank’s strategy to maximize electronic payment methods and automate payments in a way that serves the country's digital transformation and supports financial inclusion, especially as the agreement is primarily aimed at university students, a category that the bank seeks to include in its clients.

Okasha added that this partnership allows students to pay their university fees through debit cards, electronic wallets, as well as phone cash wallets through an application, which helps transform the society to a less dependent one on cash, reflecting the bank's strategy to spread e-banking among the new generation.

The cooperation between the bank and the Ministry of Higher Education is not limited to offering banking services, but extended to providing awareness lectures by the bank's specialized teams for students in an effort to create a new generation that is familiar with the banking sector.

The chairman indicated that the partnership with the ministry also includes scholarships in a number of majors at the three universities, especially ones required in the labor market.

The scholarships will be offered to outstanding students, who retain their excellence during the years of study. The grants will cover 100% of the total value of the tuition fees, with a total amount of 15 million pounds, as part of the bank's contribution in social activities.

On his part, Yehia Abou El-Fotouh, Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors at the NBE said that the partnership enables students to pay university application fees and academic year expenses by providing electronic points of sale (POS) and the QR code system, which are free of charge.

He pointed out that it was agreed with the ministry to provide banking units to provide comprehensive services within universities to students, teaching staff, administrative staff and parents, in addition to providing automated teller machines (ATM) within the headquarters of the three universities to make it easier to obtain their needs from cash and salaries.

It is noteworthy that the NBE took the lead years ago in contracting with 27 Egyptian universities to implement e-payment services, which proved successful in raising students' awareness of banking services.