GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — On July 5, the Ramallah-based National Bank (TNB) launched its latest version of Hayati (My Life), a program that targets women. The privately owned bank first introduced the program in 2015, focusing on savings accounts and offering a limited number of 0% interest loans for modest amounts. The revamped program, the first of its kind in Palestine, offers comprehensive banking services for women, including accounts of all types, credit cards and low-interest housing, personal, car and small-business loans.

The program framework stems from a February 2016 memorandum of understanding signed by Abir Awda, the Palestinian minister of economy, and Rajaa Rantision, the board director of the Ramallah-based Business Women's Forum (BWF), to increase women’s participation in the economic arena.

The initiative aims to empower women by enhancing their financial capabilities in the management of private business projects and to strengthen women’s roles and independence in a society that continues to hinder their joining the labor market. Some Palestinian women still have an outdated understanding of saving and therefore continue to buy gold and hoard money at home.

TNB general manager Ahmad al-Haj Hassan told Al-Monitor about an internal bank study that led to its first women's savings program under Hayati. “Women's consumption patterns differ from that of men,” he said. “Moreover, the study suggested that women’s savings rate was higher than men's, but they tended to save in traditional ways, not using banks.” According to Hassan, women who saved did so to feel financially secure, to have a steady income reserve and to complete their education.