In light of the National Bank of Egypt's (NBE) interest in improving the services it offers its customers to facilitate banking transactions and maintain leadership in providing electronic banking services updates, Hazem Hegazy, NBE CEO for retail banking and small- and medium–sized enterprises signed a corporation protocol with Ahmed Abdel Aziz, chairperson of Misr Life Insurance. The protocol revolves around the development of the company's dues collection tools and their insertion in the electronic system. NBE deputy chairperson Yehia Abou El-Fotouh Ibrahim, and head of product marketing and retail sales for individuals and alternative channels Alaa Farouk attended the signing of the protocol, as well as vice chairperson of Misr Life Insurance Usama Abdelaziz, head of the quality and planning department at Misr Life Insurance Alaa Aldeen Hassan, and team members responsible for electronic banking services from both companies. After signing the protocol, Hegazy said that this protocol comes within the framework of the bank's interest in achieving financial inclusion, generalising electronic means of payment in order to reduce cash volume in commercial transactions, and reduce the risks of carrying cash. The bank will provide the company's 190 branches around the country with point of sale (POS) machines. It will also provide the company's 300 collectors—who are responsible for outdoor collection operations—with mobile point of sale (MPOS) machines linked to mobile phones, and allow customers to repay all insurance documents' dues and instalments wherever they are through credit or debit cards issued by the NBE or other Egyptian banks. Hegazy added that the NBE will also provide the company with automated clearing house (ACH) services which represent an integrated financial solution for company payments and enable exchanging payment orders and settling them automatically. Thus, the company will enjoy operational and transfer advantages, including the reduction of the risk of forged cheques. It will also save time, send recurring payments easily, dispense paperwork, and replace paper-based transfers by electronic transfers. Ahmed Abdel Aziz, chairperson of Misr Life Insurance, said that the company has chosen the NBE due to the bank's status in the market, and its technological capabilities that enabled it to acquire a larger share of credit and debit card numbers in the market. Besides leading the field of e-collection services and digital payment, the bank also seeks to use the latest methods applied in payment methods which benefit customers, and positively affects the life insurance industry in Egypt.
