Egypt’s leading bank, Misr Bank, has started issuing Visa Electron debit cards which allow customers with current accounts to withdraw cash from ATMs and charge purchases without paying interest, the withdrawals and payments being deducted directly from their accounts, reported the weekly Middle East Times. To promote the new service, the bank is issuing cards to 18,000 customers this month.
A campaign to issue the cards started at the headquarters of Misr Bank in early September and will last till the end of the month, said the weekly.
Visa Electron is considered the most popular card in the Arab world because it is a debit card rather than a credit card, the latter being less appealing because of the high interest rates they charge, often putting their owners into serious debt.
Another major advantage of the Visa Electron cards is that they can be used internationally to withdraw cash, at some 662,000 ATMs around the world.
Thus cardholders can travel with minimal cash, withdrawing funds in local currencies as needed.
There is no risk to the card issuer because no cash can be withdrawn or purchases made on the card unless there are sufficient funds in the cardholder's account.
The bank records the time and place of purchase, whether cash or products, and lists these in regular statements for the cardholding customer. Visa Electron services are available from the 21,000 banks that are members of Visa's worldwide network.
Misr Bank is in the process of upgrading its systems and infrastructure in order to exploit its card business potentials, the weekly said.
The bank has over 1.5 million active accounts (current and savings), but it has only issued 30,000 Visa Classic credit/charge cards and 46,000 Electron cards so far – Albawaba.com
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