MCB Bank Ltd, Pakistan's leading private sector bank, launched a new pioneering financial product, the MCBSME Card in collaboration with METRO Cash & Carry Pakistan. The first of its kind card based clean lending product was unveiled during a MoU signing ceremony with METRO Cash and Carry Pakistan, whose Hotel/Restaurant/Caterers (HORECA) customers would be the first to benefit from the new offering.
The MCBSME Card launch featured the participation of Director Finance, METRO Cash and Carry, AsimIsar, President MCB Bank, Imran Maqbool, Retail Banking Head - North MCB, Zargham Khan Durrani, and senior representatives from both organisations. Participants at the event were briefed about the innovative product by Head of Products, Retail Banking Group MCB, Hassan Tariq.
This innovative collaboration marks the first time a formal banking institution is offering a working capital line of Rs 5 million to small enterprises (SEs) & medium enterprises (MEs) against a card which operates at METRO Stores on dedicated MCB Bank Point of Sale (POS) machines. Salient features of the SME card include no borrowing costs (maximum grace period of up to 52 days), no collateral requirements and secured transactions besides other benefits.
Addressing participants at the event, Asim Isar explained METRO Cash and Carry's contribution to the overall global retail segment and acknowledged the need of such a product in the local market. He appreciated MCB Bank for developing an innovative product which rightly addresses the needs of SMEs and expressed his appreciation on being a part of this venture.
Speaking at the event, Imran Maqbool emphasised the importance and role of SMEs in developing economies and explained the challenges for SMEs during the loan sanctioning process. Zargham Khan Durrani further explained how this product will eliminate those challenges and will offer substantial financial relief to SMEs by reducing their financing cost while bridging their working capital needs.-PR