Press Release

Xpress Money Payout Services now available at Sindh Bank Ltd.

~ Expands its footprint to over 5500 locations in Pakistan ~

~Xpress Money remittance products and services available at 160 branches of the Bank~

PAKISTAN, Islamabad, November 18, 2013: Xpress Money, the world’s most dependable money transfer brand, today announced the availability of its payout services at 160 branches of Sindh Bank in Pakistan. Through this tie-up the two organizations will complement and combine their expertise to jointly offer innovative remittance solutions to their esteemed customers.

Xpress Money customers can avail the services, namely Cash Pick up and Direct Account Credit across 160 branches of the bank. With this alliance, Xpress Money now has a strong network of over 5500 agent locations across the country.

“Sindh Bank is one of the most reputed banks in Pakistan. It has a large user base with excellent reach in the remote areas of the country. Through this strategic alliance, we can provide instant and secured access of remittances to our customers across Pakistan,’ said Mr. Rizwan Ali Hamdani, Country Manager - Pakistan, Xpress Money. “With World Bank estimated USD 15 billion remittance inflows to Pakistan and the regulators emphasizing the importance of money transfer through official channels, the significance of such an alliance helps in improving the accessibility to formal channels of remittance,” he added.

Xpress Money has engineered new standards to offer a wide range of services to address varied customer demands. Xpress Money constantly provides innovative services to enhance their philosophy of ‘Bringing Home Closer’ to the growing non-residential Pakistanis across the globe.

Success story

Mobeena's Success story

(File Photo / Illustration)

Women mostly in rural areas have to struggle to find an identity for themselves being largely dependent upon male family members for financial and social support. Lack of education facilities and income resources are the additional obstacles that prevent a woman from earning a quality lifestyle. Same was the case with Mobeena, Resident of Mirpurkhas who was living a financially stressed life with her husband and 4 children who were not able to join a school because their parents was not able to bare their educational expenses.

However, one thing distinguished Mobeena from the average woman was a strong resolve to support her family and to give them a chance at building a bright future free of any financial worries. This made her decided to start her own enterprise of garments.

Implication of starting an enterprise was a tough task because she had to face problems that were lack of market knowledge, society backlash and most importantly lack of resources. Her husband supported her morally but due to financial constraints he was not able to support her financially. She contacted Khushhalibank the premier Microfinance bank for financial assistance and the bank not only responded positively on her loan request but also guided her with best possible entrepreneurship ideas to help her run her business smoothly.

Now with support of Khushhalibank Mobeena is now successfully running her own enterprise of sale and purchase of garments in her town. With having a successful experience at the town level she is planning to expand her business to the nearest cities and opening of a kids garments shop for her sister. Not only has she become a successful entrepreneur, she is now also a role model for other members of society as she has produced jobs for other women in the society who are now able to support their families and are changing the fortunes as Mobeena did for her family.

Productivity Pockets:

Boredom is DEAD

By Naveed Siraj, Intel

Are we too productive to be creative?

Our global thirst for growth and increased productivity means we have become dependent on connected mobile devices. We live 24/7 lives, we are always ‘on’, always connected and always entertained. Smartphones have killed boredom.

This may well sound like a good thing, with productivity levels surging. But, what is the cost of this productivity boost?

There are no longer pockets of time devoted to unwinding, unplugging or heaven forbid being bored.

Employers are able to reach employees at any given time and the boundaries of the office now extend beyond the walls of the office block and into people homes, cars and hobby time.

“It’s become impossible to do nothing,” said Intel Fellow, Genevieve Bell.

Even looking at the projected global GDP growth targets makes the mind boggle.

According to a recent McKinsey report, simply keeping pace with the projected global GDP growth will require an estimated $57 trillion in infrastructure investment between now and 2030. Nearly 60 percent more than the $36 trillion spent over the past 18 years.

In today’s highly productive mindset being bored is negative, it’s considered to be a waste of precious, useful time.

People no longer stand idle waiting for the train, they connect with others on social networking sites, check work email or play candy crush. Boredom has been extinguished – we have successfully scraped together all the spare five minutes of our day and filled them with activity.

But is boredom all that bad? Or has it just been given a bad reputation?

Intel Fellow and director of the Interaction and Experience Research Group within the Intel Labs, Genevieve Bell has researched the topic of boredom. According to Bell, “being bored is a moment of extreme productivity where your brain can reset itself” and allow for new and innovative ideas to flow.

Perhaps it’s time for a smartphone intervention?

So, how do you balance productivity with time for creative thinking? Simple: It’s time to turn off your smartphone. Stop playing candy crush, stop following your friends on Facebook* and be happy to sit with our own thoughts. What if we changed the way we use our smartphones and looked to them as a convenient way to tap into our imagination rather than seeing the device as a simple boredom cure?

Smartphones, tablets and other ultra-portable devices are the perfect devices for people to reach for and record their creative ideas. These devices can also be used to make yourself more productive during traditional work time, potentially unlocking time for boredom later in the day.

It’s time to revive boredom.

Unplug.

Put down that smartphone.

Make time for downtime.

Unleash your creativity.

Take your business or hobby to the next level.

The writer is the Country Manager for Intel Pakistan.

Innovation & technology

Shell highlights youth's contribution to innovation & technology

ISLAMABAD, November 04, 2013: Matthias Bichsel, Projects and Technology Director of Royal Dutch Shell Plc met with Electrical and Mechanical Engineering students at the National University of Sciences & Technology (NUST) today. They spoke about Shell’s global focus on technological innovation in its operations and developing integrated energy solutions. 

Mr Bichsel highlighted a number of exciting new projects that Shell is working on around the world and in the South Asian region, where thousands of engineers and scientists are working on front-end design and product development and on the delivery of high-end advanced technical studies. In his address, he added that Shell sees “universities as our friends. Not only do they provide a rich source of recruits, but they are also a wonderful source of research and innovative ideas – some of which are important to many of the things we do at Shell.”

“Additionally, Shell endeavours to create learning opportunities particularly for young bright minds like those at the university, and the Shell Eco-marathon is one such event that does this. I’m very pleased to see the wonderful fuel-efficient vehicles teams here at NUST have worked so hard to build,” he said.

At the event, Major General Obaid bin Zakria said, “the opportunities for our students to meet with and hear about global technological and engineering projects and opportunities is a crucial part of encouraging them to think creatively not only about their careers, but also to think seriously about how they can apply their knowledge and the education they have to help solve practical challenges facing Pakistan and the world.”

Over 150 students from electrical, mechanical and mechatronic engineering disciplines attended  the address by Mr Bichsel, after which he and members of the faculty at NUST viewed various ongoing projects students are working on, including Shell Eco-marathon vehicles for the 2014 competition.