National Bank of Pakistan has signed an agreement with AKHUWAT for structured payments and collections services through NBP, capitalizing over NBP’s state of the art edifice of services and vast network. The ceremony was held in Lahore on 20th December 2017.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Saeed Ahmad – CEO/President National Bank of Pakistan and Dr. Muhammad Amjad Saqib, CEO – AKHUWAT, in the presence of senior management of both sides including Mudassir H. Khan – SEVP/Group Chief Payment Services & Digital Banking Group, Mr. Azfar Jamal Khan – EVP/Head Innovation & E-Banking, Mr. Farhan Durrani – SVP/Head CRM, Mr. Khawar Rafique – Director Akhuwat, Mr. Humayun Ehsan – Director Akhuwat and other delegates. This initiative will bring convenience for Akhuwat as NBP has built a customized solution to service Akhuwat’s requirement, opening 800,000+ Asaan accounts to cater centralized disbursements and collections of loan installments through respective accounts of the borrowers. This unique model is custom built for Akhuwat, to bring currently unbanked customers of Akhuwat within the ambit of formal banking services, for not just their current needs but to also enable them to utilize other banking service, and become part of the Financially Included population of Pakistan.
On the occasion, Mr. Saeed Ahmad stated that the National Bank envisions transformation of the country’s financial system by offering Financial Services to every Pakistani through all available payment channels. He further emphasized the importance of National Eco-system in partnership with leading players in the country to enhance the value for every citizen, creating inter-operable digital solutions for general public and further boosting financial inclusion. He also advised his bank team to ensure facilitation of these customers with utmost respect.
Dr. M. Amjad Saqib showed his delight to enter into an alliance with NBP, which is the largest government owned bank in Pakistan. He stated “we have built Akhuwat with a passion to serve the poorest of the poor, by providing interest free loans and enabling them to utilize the funds to create opportunities for enhancing income. With NBP providing convenience of financial services to our customer, we are confident that this joint effort will go a long way in achieving our shared vision of financial inclusion”.
While sharing his views after the ceremony, Mr. Mudassir H. Khan said that NBP is focused on the long term vision of Financial Inclusion and digitization. With this agreement, we have taken another step forward, with opening of Asaan Accounts for these 800,000 plus customers, who were previously financially excluded. This is a tailor-made transactional solution catering to the requirements of AKHUWAT with NBP’s unparalleled branch network, ATM footprint and its partner outlets across the country.
