The United Bank launched Monday through its website, in cooperation with the Egyptian Credit Bureau I-Score, Self Inquiry Via Bank Portal, a service of instant self-enquiry about the creditworthiness of its customers.
The bank signed on Monday a cooperation agreement with I-Score to activate the service in the presence of chairperson of the bank Ashraf El-Kady, vice chairperson and managing director of the bank Farag Abdel Hamed, executive chairperson of I-Score Mohamed Kafafi, managing director of the company Mohamed Refaat El-Houshi, and the company’s chief business development officer Ahmad El-Okdah.
According to El-Kady, the bank will enable instant self-inquiry through the service for individuals, large companies, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Customers can enquire about their credit reports at any time through the bank’s website, provided that the customer has an account in the bank’s internet banking system.
He added that this service, of which the bank is the only one providing it in the Egyptian market, is provided in accordance with the regulating rules set by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) for these services. Moreover, it enables customers to reach the information they need instantly and keep it.
The credit report the customer obtains includes an evaluation for the customer’s creditworthiness, credit score, which is one of the most important elements for customers who want to obtain financing from the bank, according to El-Kady.
He said that the Egyptian market is seeing a leap in the unconventional technological services provided to the customers. These services managed to attract a noteworthy segment in Egyptian society, especially among the young people and those between 25- and 50-years old. The customer can meet all his/her banking commitments without going to the bank’s office. Moreover, they have reduced the pressure on the workers and branches.
As for the importance of this new service for the SMEs sector, El-Kady said the bank holds contributing to developing that sector among its priorities. The service will enable executive members of these enterprises to instantly enquire about their creditworthiness; consequently, they will be able to quickly obtain the needed financing for their projects.
El-Kady revealed that the bank is seeking to obtain the approval of the CBE to provide a number of other online services in the next period.
He noted that the bank conducts a general survey by the end of every year to know what its customers think about the quality of its banking services.
According to Abdel Hamed, the package of the modern technological services provided by the bank enable it to give the best services to its present and future customers. In addition, these services help reduce the cost of electronic services and deliver the services quickly and accurately.
He added that launching the service of Self Inquiry Via Bank Portal in cooperation with I-Score limits many problems the bank used to face with customers it rejected from loans.
“The customer used to very angrily receive the bank’s rejection without knowing the reasons for the rejection, but now, every customer can obtain his/her credit report and consequently see whether or not he/she is qualified to obtain the loan,” according to Abdel Hamed.
The new service will give the chance to customers of The United Bank to learn about their credit evaluation, especially the SMEs sector, in order to obtain the needed financing to establish and expand their businesses. In addition, it has a positive impact on retail banking customers as it enables them to obtain financing from the bank in the least possible time, according to Kafafi.
Kafafi noted that I-Score works on applying the newest specialised services in the field of credit and financial enquiry in the Egyptian market and that its services cover all the financial institutions granting credit in the Egyptian market.
