BankMuscat rolls out electronic card payment at Ministry of Agriculture

29 April 2010
MUSCAT -- BankMuscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate, recently signed an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture to introduce electronic card payment facility for all fee-based services offered by the Ministry.

Sayyid Mohammed bin Soud al Busaidy, Director-General of Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Ministry of Agriculture, and Sulaiman bin Hamed al Harthy, Group DGM, Consumer Banking, signed the agreement.

Putting in place an effective and secure platform for electronic card payment at the ministry, the new facility marks a major milestone as all bank cards carrying Visa or MasterCard affiliation can be used as the mode of payment at the counters.

Commenting on the facility, Sulaiman al Harthy said: "BankMuscat is proud to offer its state-of-the-art card acquiring facility for the Ministry of Agriculture.

The card acquiring service reflects the bank's commitment to work closely with government agencies in improving the financial infrastructure in the country.

Ushering in convenience for customers and eliminating cash transactions, the new facility streamlines payment and improves the delivery of government services. The ministry's association with BankMuscat in launching this service ensures that the facility will be effectively and professionally managed.

The feedback on BankMuscat's card-acquiring support for goods and services offered by the government has been very positive. The card payment facility is presently available at the Royal Oman Police (ROP) directorates, Muscat Municipality, Dhofar Municipality, the Ministry of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Housing, Ministry of Justice, and Public Prosecution departments across the country.

Ever since BankMuscat commenced its card acquiring operations in 2002, many milestones have been achieved with the support of partners and customers. Presently, BankMuscatBankMuscatLoading... is the largest acquirer and issuer of cards in Oman.

Marking yet another pioneering step, BankMuscat was chosen as a partner to launch the e-Purse project, a state-of-the-art 'Cash on Card' solution involving the electronic chip-based National ID card and Resident Cards.

Establishing a strong network of government and commercial entities, BankMuscatBankMuscatLoading... has deployed over 4,500 point of sales (PoS) card acquiring terminals across the country to support electronic payment in the country and continues to expand rapidly.

By Staff Reporter

© Oman Daily Observer 2010

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