AAU Launches the University Smart Card for Students and Professors in Cooperation with the Jordan Kuwait Bank and the Management of Dinark Company

AAU in cooperation with the Jordan Kuwait Bank and the management of Dinark Company launched the University smart card for students and professors on Sunday, 4/11/2018. The University has taken this step in light of the increasing interest of various financial and economic policy makers in the financial inclusion issue and the access to financial services for different segments of the community, including university students. Moreover, the AAU administration believes in the importance of the youth’s role in participating actively in achieving the sustainable economic and social growth. It also believes in acquainting them with the use of modern technology in managing their financial accounts. This event was attended by the AAU President, Prof. Sari Hamdan, the representatives of the Jordan Kuwait Bank, Mr. Suhail Salman, the Director of Alternative Channels and the representatives of the Dinark Company, Engineer Basem Farraj, the Chairman of the Board of Directors and Mr. Saddam Amayra, the Executive Director for Financial Affairs. The event was also attended by Dr. Maher Al-Hourani, the Chairman of the AAU Board of Directors, the AAU Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Abdulrahman Attiyat and representatives of the Electronic Services and the Information Unit as well as Al Hourani Center for e-Learning at the University. In his speech, the AAU President, Prof. Sari Hamdan welcomed the representatives of the Jordan Kuwait Bank and the Dinark Company and said that AAU is proud of such launching a partnership and it is ready for any project that would be of benefits for students. He also said that this smart card is a civilized model that should be taken by all other parties and called for acquainting faculty members and students with how to use this card and the privileges it offers. On his part, Dinarak Chairman of the Board of Directors, Engineer Basem Farraj said that the Dinark Company believes in the importance of properly accessing various financial products and services to the individuals and the business sector within a reasonable and safe cost which has an effect on reducing economic and social inequality in the Kingdom. He also mentioned that since its establishment in 2016, the Company has provided mobile payment services to more than 85,000 customers through its branches and its agents’ network distributed in the Kingdom which amount to more than 300 points. The Company also provided financial services to the financially excluded groups so that they can manage their money i.e. depositing, withdrawing, transferring and paying bills and other services through its strategic partners such as the German Corporation for International Cooperation, the Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund and the Jordan Kuwait Bank and other local and international institutions which have contributed to the achievement of the financial inclusion in Jordan. On his part, Mr. Suhail Salman, the Director of Alternative Channels in the Jordan Kuwait Bank, said that the Bank has been keen, since its establishment on providing the best electronic services to its customers and partners and that it is one of the leading banks in Jordan that provides services to the financial technology companies (Fin Techs). He added that the Bank provides clearing services to four out of the five companies (PSPS) which provide payment services, after preparing the infrastructure for serving this sector. Moreover, the Bank was also one of the pioneer banks that supported the financial inclusion through introducing prepaid card products and issuing cards to several sectors, including charitable organizations that support refugees (NGOS). He added that the card issued for AAU is the most updated technologically since it has the Master Card logo and thus provides cash purchase and withdrawal services through all points of sale and ATMs locally and internationally. It also supports contactless payment technology (Pay Pass), which is a card connected to the e-wallet of the Dinark Company, which operates under the system JoMoPay and the legislative umbrella of the Central Bank of Jordan to add extra services such as transfer services between students and e-wallet customers, bills payment and others, thus providing comprehensive financial services to the students. The cards are also linked to the University entry system and thus enable the administration of University to control the entry of the students to the various facilities of the University and enable the lecturers to check the attendance and absence in lectures electronically. On his part, Mr. Saddam Amayra, the Executive Director of Financial Affairs of the Dinark Company, talked about the importance of establishing partnership and integration between the Jordanian institutions to create pioneering initiatives. He added that this service is a qualitative and pioneering addition to the university students and professors. He also pointed out that the aim of offering the smart card to students is to grant them more financial awareness and to include university students in the economic system. He added that the e-wallet in addition to the card linked to it enable students to enter the University and manage their financial accounts without the need for having cash. It is worth noting that there will be a fixed Dinark booth for students to conduct registration processes and to answer all the students’ inquires. This is the first smart card package for the University students, whose number is currently 7,500 cards. It is a student identification card within the University and can be used for the purpose of entering the various facilities of the University and bearing the student's personal name and data. The card is also activated as a Dinark prepaid card issued by the Jordan Kuwait Bank so that it opens the Dinark e-wallet of the student and link it to the card so that he/she can use the services of Dinark such as money transfer and receipt, invoice payment and the card recharging. It also enables students to pay via the application or the card to merchants locally and internationally, to purchase online and to withdraw from any ATMs in addition to accept payments at the University facilities via the mobile account in the future. It is worth noting that the Central Bank of Jordan, in cooperation with the public and private sectors and international institutions, have formulated a national strategy for the financial inclusion from 2018-2020. This strategy aims to raise the percentages of the financial inclusion of the low-income people, youth, women, refugees and small and medium-sized enterprises. The strategy is based on a set of priority policies, three of which are essential namely microfinance, digital financial services and small & medium enterprises financing.It goes without saying that the Jordan Kuwait Bank is one of the leading banks in providing electronic services, in offering services to financial technology companies (Fin Techs) and in enhancing the financial inclusion by providing financial services to many social and economic entities and sectors. The Dinark Company is a Jordanian institution which is a leader in e-payment via mobile phones and in providing financial technology services which operate under the provisions and legislations of the Central Bank of Jordan. A few days ago, it obtained the award of the best emerging financial company that achieves initiatives of the financial inclusion in the Arab World by Galaxy Fin Tech which is the only digital platform in the Middle East and North Africa.