Financial institutions join hands to support low income households

Pakistan News & Features Services

Some of the top financial institutions of the country have joined hands to work together to support the low income households in Pakistan during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The initiative was taken by National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) which had hosted a virtual roundtable meeting last month to discuss the issues and challenges facing the Non-Bank Microfinance Institutions (NBMFIs) and their customers as a consequence of the economic slowdown due to the pandemic. 

The roundtable was attended by the CEOs of Pakistan’s largest NBMFIs including the National Rural Support Program, Kashf Foundation, Damen Support Program, SAFCO Support Program, Thardeep Foundation, Rural Community Development Program and Agahi. 

The consultation, presided over by Arif Usmani, President, NBP, included Zubyr Soomro, Chairman, NBP, and Sadaffe Abid, Director, NBP, who is also Chair of the bank’s Inclusive Development Committee. 

The key sector players like the CEOs of Pakistan Microfinance Network (PMN) and the Pakistan Microfinance Investment Company (PMIC) were also invited to examine the state of the microfinance industry and explore opportunities to develop a sector wide approach.

The purpose of the roundtable was to assess the nature, size and scale of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the microfinance clients’ income and wellbeing. The microfinance sector reaches over 7 million borrowers across the country, 50% of whom are women. 

Zubyr Soomro, Chairman, NBP, in his opening remarks, urged the microfinance players to take a long term approach, strengthen their lending standards, systems and manage resources efficiently. 

The NBP leadership highlighted its inclusive development mandate and commitment to serve the nation through playing a leadership role in forging strategic alliances to help key institutions to manage their way through these times and increase their efforts to address poverty in the country. 

The dialogue will facilitate developing a holistic response for the microfinance sector in terms of the possible support required by the industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The initiative was aimed at assessing the quantum and size of the NBMFI requirements as well as to launch a process of designing and implementing a twofold solution. Firstly, to understand ways to ensure the NBMFI sector continues to be able to support its current client needs in the short and medium term during the present crisis, and secondly, to plan financing that would be required as the economy returns to a state of normalcy.

The NBMFIs appreciated the action of the SECP, which regulates the NBMFI sector, for allowing them to defer loan payments from their borrowers to ease the financial burden on low income households. 

All participants welcomed the initiative of the NBP to have organized the roundtable at a very critical juncture. 

The roundtable concluded with a commitment that the NBMFIs, PMN, PMIC and NBP would work together to help sustain and support low income households during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the economic wellbeing of millions of low income households intrinsically linked to the well-being of the NBMFIs a holistic approach must be undertaken.

NBP President reviews safety, security arrangements at branches

Pakistan News & Features Services

The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Arif Usmani, visited various branches of Karachi on April 13 to assess and evaluate first-hand the safety and security measures made for the customers and employees of the bank.

He appreciated the bank employees who, in the face of all the challenges, were performing their duties.

NBP has been taking preventive and precautionary measures in its branches by ensuring social distancing and providing hand washing facilities/sanitizers to customers before entering the branches or using ATMs.

The presence of the President, alongwith senior management, amongst branch employees was deemed a morale booster for all the entire staff, serving through these hard times. The President, while acknowledging their invaluable services, also advised that all necessary measures must be taken for safety of customers and employees.

Arif Usmani also took the time out to talk directly to the customers present in the branches and he informed them about NBP’s digital banking channels to avoid in-person branch banking as far as possible. 

He reassured the customers that all the staff of NBP was committed to serving the nation in this distressful and difficult time.

The NBP President, during his visit to various branches, was accompanied Tariq Jamali, SEVP & Group Chief, Centralized Operations & Administration Group and Karim Akram Khan, Group Head Logistics Support Group.

NBP announce revised banking hours

By Syed Sajid Aziz
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), following the directives of the central bank, starting from March 30, will now remain open for public dealing from 10 am to 3.30 pm until further orders. 

The working hours at the selected branches will be observed from Mondays to Thursdays while the bank will be open from 10 am to 12.30 pm on Fridays. 

The spokesman of the NBP, Ibne Hasan, informed PNFS that the digital banking services and ATM will remain functional round the clock, as usual, and the customers have been advised to ring 111-627-627 for complaints or assistance. 

He further disclosed that the NBP management has ensured adequate safety measures at the branches and its offices for the customers as well as the staff in view of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“All the necessary precautions are being taken with emphasis on social distancing in these times for the safety of people,” he added.

NBP, Balochistan sign agreement for automation of tax collections

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) has signed an agreement with Balochistan’s Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics department for the automation of tax collection system across the province.

The agreement was signed by Muhammad Farooq, NBP’s Executive Vice President, Payment Services and Digital Banking Group and Fateh Muhammad Khajak, Director General Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics Balochistan. 

The NBP President, Saeed Ahmad and Balochistan’s Secretary Excise and Taxation, Zafar Ali Shah Bukhari were also present at the occasion. 

The JazzCash is collaborating with NBP in the tax automation project. 

Speaking at the occasion, Zafar Ali Shah Bukhari, Secretary Excise, Taxation and Anti-Narcotics, Balochistan, said that earlier the taxes were collected manually through NBP’s branches, which had its own challenges and complications. 

Reconciliation of collected money was one of the biggest problem while at times transparency and timeliness were compromised in manual system, he added and said that the implementation of new automated system would make the process much easier for customers and will provide real time validation as well. 

Saeed Ahmad, President NBP said that automation and digitization of all government procedures and payments & taxes collections is one of the primary objectives all federal and provincial governments to achieve complete E- governance. The NBP is assisting all the provincial governments in digitalizing their various payments, fee and taxes collection systems.

He mentioned that the NBP has already inked MoUs and agreements with various provincial and federal departments for digitally collecting their fee and payments including Directorate General of Immigration & Passports, Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, Public Service Commission KPK, Islamabad Traffic Police, Driving License Sindh and Dealer Vehicle Registration System (DVRS) and collection of e-Tax in Punjab. 

He further stated that NBP was playing a major role in enhancing the financial inclusion by aligning with digital banking revolutions in Pakistan. NBP is in process of developing systems for digitization of all G2P & P2G payments. 

He highlighted that NBP is actively working to digitalize its banking services built on a collaborative model with Telcos and other stakeholders. This will help in promoting Alternate Delivery Channels and enabling the right environment for inclusive growth and achieve the goal of financial inclusion, Saeed added.

Being a public institution, he said, it is our mandate to develop a digital suite of financial services with an access to market players through any available digital channels for enhanced customer convenience with focus on enabling e-governance infrastructure. Our substantial participation in e-credit program, as well as forging links with other stakeholders including telecom service providers is expected to boost formalization of the economy. 

He said that the bank’s biggest projects recently, was to rapidly grow our ATM network which already grew from 376 ATMs in the year 2014 to over 1,000 ATMs in the year 2016. This exponential growth in our ATMs extended financial services to far flung areas of the country, where previously no other bank had ventured even in the remotest of areas in FATA. 

He said that his aim is to geographically cover the NBP’s services from the peaks of Karakoram to the Arid Zones of Baluchistan.

Regarding the agreement with Balochistan tax department, President NBP said that the NBP has chosen JazzCash to be its official partner in branchless banking project.

People could pay their due taxes and payments from the JazzCash outlets and shops across Baluchistan and they wouldn’t need to visit Excise and Taxation department. 

Through this service, outstanding amounts of the relevant taxes can be extracted and payment options will be available for real time collections through JazzCash. Saeed said that this facility will minimize the operational hassles of the Excise and Taxation Department and also provide convenience, comfort, transparency and fast track options to general public. 

Saeed Ahmad said that initially this will be rolled out through JazzCash and gradually other partner mobile money operators as well as ADCs of the bank i.e Mobile App. And ATMs will be added in due course. 

The NBP’s Head of Central Payment Services and Digital Banking Group, Farhan Durrani, Muhammad Sultan Jaffar, Regional Head Quetta, NBP, Qazi Muhammad Ali/Director IT Excise and Taxation, Faheem Mumtaz, Head of B2G JazzCash, Muhammad Ghufran Abbassi, Regional Head, MFS JazzCash, Naveed Ejaz, Regional Head, B2G JazzCash, Shakeel Tareen, Regional Head Sales, Balochistan Jazz Cash and others attended the ceremony.

National Industrial Relations Commission restrains NBP union official from unlawful activities

The Chairman, National Industrial Relations Commission (NIRC) vide its Order dated 16th March 2010 has stopped Syed Jehangir, President , NBP Employees Front, Head Office (CBA) from exhibiting banners & posters which are defamatory in nature and also from forcefully entering into the offices of senior Bank officials with a view to pressurize and overawe them. Restraining orders have also been issued directing the union official to refrain from creating law and order situation in the Bank. Both the parties will abide by the Court Orders.
Inspector General Police (Sindh) has also been directed by the learned Court to ensure that no law and order situation takes place in this respect.