Banque Du Caire, the country's third biggest state-run bank, issued Aman Certificates for temporary and casual workers with 12 million pounds in three weeks, the bank's chairman Tarek Fayed said Saturday. He said that some 9,000 certificates have been issued and that there is an increased demand for the certificate at his bank coinciding with the increased awareness about the new certificates. Four Egyptian banks started in March issuing the Aman Certificate (Security Certificate), with the aim of providing a safety net for casual and temporary workers. The certificates can be purchased without any fees or opening an account. They range between 500 pounds and 2,500 pounds, providing insurance coverage and monthly pensions for casual workers with a 16 percent interest rate. The policy includes coverage for natural and accidental death and pays one-time benefits of 10,000-250,000 pounds or monthly pensions of 200-1,000 pounds over five years or LE 120-600 over 10 years. The four banks are the National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Banque Misr, Banque Du Caire and Agriculture Bank of Egypt. The certificates can be purchased by any seasonal and temporary laborer between 18 and 59 years of age upon presenting his national identification card. The new certificates come as a response to President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi's directions to provide social insurance to daily laborers. Source: Egypt Today
