The National Bank of Egypt (NBE), Visa, and e-finance started a strategic partnership to transform Helwan University into the first cashless university in Egypt. Helwan University will become the first university in the country to adopt pillars of financial inclusion.
This partnership is implemented through the issuance of prepaid Visa cards by the NBE to about 100,000 students at the university, in parallel with the activation of all options for acceptance of digital payments, either through points of sale at the university or through the bank’s website, which allows students to make payments for their purchases through the internet or mobile phones using the NBEPay mVisa app.
Through these solutions Helwan University students can complete all their financial transactions electronically, especially with the presence of e-finance, which provides payment services electronically to all Egyptian universities.
According to NBE Vice Chairperson Yehia Aboul Fotouh, the transformation of Helwan University into a non-cash one is a real nucleus on the road to achieving financial inclusion at Egyptian universities.
He pointed out that this principle comes in line with the directions of the state and the National Payments Council to expand the base of beneficiaries of banking services, through the services provided by financial institutions, so as to increase transparency and scale back the parallel economy.
He added that this project also contributes to directing students and youth, which plays a key role in changing society’s habits of using traditional methods of payment of their financial transactions, by providing different payment options at the university in a comprehensive manner.
He noted that changing the culture of cash payments in the community requires the concerted efforts of partners and the provision of solutions and incentives that contribute to creating an environment conducive to achieving financial inclusion, pointing out that the beginning should be with student and youth gatherings that are characterised by the use of technology and its various applications and their ability to lead change in societies.
According to Visa Egypt manager Tarek Mahfouz, this project is a real beginning to change the culture of cash payments at an important place such as Helwan University, the significance of which is dealing with students and providing financial services to them, along with how to deal with them and the ease and security associated with them.
Mahfouz pointed out that this partnership is a promising start and establishes a broader outlook for various Egyptian universities.
e-finance CEO Ibrahim Sarhan said that the project is a real step towards achieving financial inclusion and orientation towards Egyptian youth to introduce them to financial and banking services, especially at universities.
Sarhan expressed his confidence that this step will have a great impact on changing the culture of society by targeting university students. He said that repeating this experience in a large number of Egyptian universities will enable them to measure the change in the culture of dependence on cash and give a clear image of using digital payments.
