DOHA: Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) announced the launch of Bedaya Account, a new initiative within the framework of the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Program, which provides the opportunity to University students to open their first banking account in an easy, fast and modern way. It also allows students to start using and getting acquainted to a spectrum of banking products and services.
The launch of Bedaya Account follows last year’s introduction of QIB’s financial literacy program, called “How money works?”, which educates school and university students on techniques to manage money prudently by budgeting, saving and investing.
Today, there are around 30,000 University students in the country with around 65 percent of them being Qatari nationals. To identify the optimum package of financial products and services to be offered to this important segment of society, QIB has invited a large number of current students to participate in a comprehensive market research.
With the key purpose behind its design to help Qatar’s future leaders to acquire and further develop the right banking habits towards saving, budgeting and responsible spending, the Bedaya Account enables students over the age of 18 to manage their finances on their own, learning along the way the path to financial independence and success.
With the QIB Bedaya Account, students get to open a Misk Savings Account offering them the chance to win weekly cash prizes and encouraging them to save more. After successfully passing a short quiz on the proper use of credit, they can apply for the first of its kind student Credit Card in Qatar, an important first step towards responsible budgeting and spending. They will also receive a free QIB-MyBook App subscription providing ‘Buy 1 get 1 Free’ offers from 500 different merchants in Qatar .
At launch, the new account will be available for Qatar University students, who can visit the dedicated QIB kiosks on their campus from 8.30am till 2.30pm.
Commenting on the QIB Bedaya Account launch, D. Anand General Manager, Personal Banking Group, said: “Students represent the future of the country and QIB wants to support the local youth towards securing a better financial future for themselves by obtaining a wealth of financial knowledge from a young age. This is something very important to us at QIB, as we are pleased to offer to students in Qatar relevant and convenient banking solutions. The Bedaya Account will cover their daily banking needs and at the same time contribute to their financial education.”
D.Anand added: “We are appreciative to Qatar University for collaborating with us and enabling us to fulfil our mission to equip the Qatari youth with the necessary skills and tools they need to make sound financial decisions today and in the future. We look forward to widening our collaboration with them in the future.”
Earlier this year, QIB and QU signed an agreement where they committed to using their expertise and resources to organize various activities for students. This includes providing students with banking services and presenting them with QIB’s financial literacy program.
