Activating ATM payment of pensions in 387 outlets

One million ATM cards already issued for payment of pensions of the state administrative system employees

Governmental ATM Service free of Charge

A Ministry of Finance report on performance development of the project of the automated payment and collection of government dues by the end of 2010 shows that the Ministry has managed to electronically collect LE 86 billion, of which LE 83 billion come from electronic tax payment systems, and LE 2.6 billion from customs duties filtering in through electronic payment systems.

The Ministry of Finance is planning to expand the system of payment of salaries and pensions electronically—a service which is currently used by around three million citizens through the National Organization for Social Insurance (NOSI) offices, 387 of which are equipped with ATM machines. One million ATM cards have been issued for payment of salaries and other financial dues of employees of the state administrative system.

The project reflects the fact that the government is alert to the social needs of the public, relieving citizens of any fees in using the automated services. The ATM cards are issued free of charge and all uses of the machines are without any fees.

The project works smoothly thanks to the collaboration of the Egyptian Central Bank, and to the application of the law on a unified treasury account which creates one account for the Ministry of Finance with the Central Bank to handle all transactions of the Ministry and the financial units included in the state general budget. The unified account acts as the basis for activating electronic payments, receivables and cash flows of the general budget of the state. This mechanism will greatly limit the use of cheques and reduce the time periods required to finalise payments to the beneficiaries and to collect due sums, eventually leading to a more efficient management of cash flows in and out of the treasury.

Concerning services that have to do with government electronic receivables, the system is applied to all directorates of the Egyptian Tax Authority which exceed 400 in number. The system has encouraged prompt payment of financial obligations by tax-payers through the electronic matrix of services, a rise of 150% compared to last year.

As for the plans of expanding electronic payment and collection in the future, the current year will see the collection of several government fees electronically as the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with Ministry of State for Administrative Development, is preparing to start collecting fees of car license renewals, traffic fines, and government university registration fees in a fully electronic manner. Payments will directly be credited through the branches of the commercial banks or through money transfers from citizens’ accounts to the accounts of public bodies. The project will be supervised by the government’s Centre of Electronic Payment and Collection which is run by an e-finance company.

To encourage the use of the system of electronic payment and collection, the Ministry has secured a number of channels for such payments, the most important of which is the government ATMs which carry the logo of the Ministry of Finance in the different government buildings, offices and outlets of the National Organization for Social Insurance to serve holders of the government salary and pension ATM cards. The service is also available through the Internet in coordination with the authorized banks.

(Source Minister of Finance)