Egyptian Supply Minister Khaled Hanafy met Sunday with officials at American multinational financial services corporation Visa Inc. to discuss means of developing and upgrading state's smart-card system for subsidised bread. Hanafy met General Manager of Visa Egypt, Tarek Mahfouz and General Manager for North and West Africa, Tarek Elhousseiny. During the meeting, Mahfouz proposed a suggestion to upgrade smart-card services through creating advanced system in coordination with Egyptian Military Production ministry and the three smart-cards firms affiliate to Planning ,Follow-Up And Administrative Reform ministry. He also suggested developing an advanced financial system for retailers' transactions with wholesale firms using Visa cards in addition to establishing unified electronic system to link subsidised bread smart-card system and Visa cards with banks. The use of electronic payments will bring greater payment security and convenience to Egyptian families, while lowering costs and bringing increased transparency to the government subsidy program. Through the system, the Egyptian government targets improving the quality of services offered to its citizens, and adopting innovative payment technologies that will drive financial inclusion for more Egyptians.
