New school aims to educate banking sector CAIRO: Underlining the financial sector's interest in pushing bank payment cards into the domestic marketplace, credit giant Visa will launch a certification program for Egypt's banking sector this May. The educational program and certifications will enable local bank managers and employees to familiarize themselves with the basics of direct debit payment cards, which are widely in use in Europe and North America but have yet to gain a significant foothold in developing nations. The program is the first of its kind in Egypt and is being presented in conjunction with the Egyptian Banking Institute (EBI) and Visa Business School (VBS). "Card training is essential for everyone in the banking industry including senior management, card centers and branches, VBS head Neil Alphonso said in a media release. Egypt has more than 24,000 point of sale vendors using payment card equipment, according to Visa. "The growth in the payment card market in Egypt has been immense, and the potential is even bigger, said Tarek Elhousseiny, Visa's general manager for Egypt and Libya, in a press release. Elhousseiny has stated in the past that increasing bank card use is important for developing countries because it "creates a relationship with banks and will enable a general widening of the financial sector in Egypt. Over the past two years, the Visa Business School has trained 278 Egyptian banking employees at 11 sessions. The new certificate was launched last week as Visa awarded prizes to domestic banks which have sent employees for training. The winners included the Arab African Bank, Arab bank, Bank of Alexandria, Banque Misr, Commercial International Bank, Credit Agricole, National Bank of Egypt and National Societe Generale Bank. The top three winners won vouchers which can be used towards further training.
