Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority Welcomes Consulting Services Group CEO and is Briefed about “Basira” Application

Ramallah – His Excellency Mr. Azzam Shawwa, the Governor of Palestine Monetary Authority, welcomed today at his office in Ramallah Mr. Firas Al-Qasas, the Chief Executive Officer of Consulting Services Group and delegates from the Group. 

Mr. Al-Qasas and delegates briefed Palestine Monetary Authority about Basira, a pure Palestinian invention and the first of its kind in the world. Basira is an application that is based on a technique that allows visually impaired people to use banking services and products. The application converts Braille writing system into audible Arabic language, which enables the visually impaired people to reliably know about the contracts and information from banks. 

Mr. Shawwa praised this Palestinian invention and said that it was part of the corporate social responsibility and the national financial inclusion strategy of Palestine Monetary Authority to support such invention, which facilitated access of disabled people to banking services and to benefit from such services independently like the rest of the people in the society.

Mr. Shawwa said that Palestine Monetary Authority would later organize, in coordination with the Association of Banks in Palestine, Sharakeh, and the Consulting Services Group, a workshop to introduce the application and its importance. Palestine Monetary Authority will also review the possibility of using the application in its projects to enhance communication with visually impaired people.   

Mr. Al-Qasas said that the application adapted banking services to the needs of the visually impaired and illiterate people who had no access to banking services and information. The application reflects care for protecting consumers of financial and banking services and the principles of equality for all in the society – without any discrimination – to obtain financial and banking services, according to Mr. Al-Qasas.