BOP Chairman and General Manager Hashim Shawa and Arab Islamic Bank General Manager Sami Saidi have signed an MoU whereby BOP will issue credit and debit cards for the Arab Islamic Bank. The signing ceremony took place at BOP HQ in Ramallah and was attended by heads of branches from both banks.
Pursuant to the MoU and as the key member in Visa and Master Card Companies, BOP will provide the Arab Islamic Bank as a sub-member with the service of issuing credit and debit cards. The MoU will enable the Arab Islamic Bank to provide its customers with credit and debits cards services in a very short time as the cards will be locally made by BOP, in contrast to other banking institutions that have their cards issued abroad.
At the outset of the signing ceremony, Shawa welcomed the attendees and expressed his delight with the MoU which he said represents the fruit of efforts toward the enhancement of partnership and integration among Palestinian banks. Shawa stated the MoU is the third of its kind signed by BOP to issue credit and debit cards. In the first quarter of last year BOP has signed two MoUs with Palestine Islamic Bank and Palestine Investment Bank.
About the development of the use of plastic cards culture, Shawa stated figures indicating a remarkable growth in the use of plastic cards during the past ten years. The use of plastic cards was initiated some years ago and only 500 point of sale (POS) machines were distributed in commercial stores, supermarkets, restaurants and other service centers. However, as the use and demand for Visa Cards, Visa Electron and Master Cards in purchase doubled, BOP has installed more than 5000 POS throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
For his part, the Arab Islamic Bank General Manager Saidi expressed delight for cooperation with BOP adding the Mou will fulfill the needs of the Arab Islamic Bank customers. Saidi made clear that the aim of the MoU will be to provide new banking services and products to customers and save them time and effort. He added the MoU will keep up with the rapidly developing financial services and products.
At the end of his word Saidi said the MoU will pave the way for further cooperation in the future and the provision of services that meet the demands of customers. At the same time, Saidi affirmed that national institutions operate in a constructive environment conducive to integration and economic cooperation.
Based on the MoU, BOP will offer three types of cards, namely international prepaid debit card (purchase and cash withdrawal card), regular monthly debit card (silver credit card) and regular monthly golden card (gold credit card). All the cards are safe as they contain a smart chip, which is the safest system used worldwide. Card holders can withdraw cash from more than 2 million ATMs and shop at 25 million stores and POS around the world.
The Shair’ah Supervisory Board of Palestine Islamic Bank has approved the legitimacy of dealing with credit cards via a special mechanism that requires the use of credit cards as credit tools within a certain ceiling for a specific time period. Credit cards are also fulfillment tools whereby card holders can make payments for the purchase of goods and services. Moreover, card holders can withdraw cash within the limits of the open credit ceiling, noting that credit cards do not offer their bearers revolving credit facilities. Bearers are expected to pay for their purchases in full within the time limit specified in the statements sent to them by the bank.