Mr. Pedro Cardoso, Chief Executive Officer of BNU passes the scholarship cheque to IFT President, Dr. Fanny Vong.
Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) granted MOP450,000 to Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) as student scholarship fund. The cheque presentation ceremony was hosted by President of IFT, Dr. Fanny Vong, and Mr. Pedro Cardoso, Chief Executive Officer of BNU. The BNU IFT Mastercard is an affinity credit card which was jointly launched by the two parties and specially designed for IFT staff, students and alumni. For each retail transaction settled with the BNU IFT Mastercard credit card, a certain percentage will be transferred to a fund that provides scholarship to IFT students. During the event, a total fund of MOP450,000 was granted to IFT for scholarship purposes. The cooperation between BNU and IFT on launching the MasterCard credit card is an example of cooperation between the financial institution and the Education organization achieving harmony and benefits for the society of Macao. To support students to pursue their tertiary studies at IFT, high school graduates with outstanding performance in their admission examinations at IFT can apply for the Institute's Scholarship. Besides, some of the governmental departments, social organizations and other institutions in Macao, such as BNU, offer scholarships to IFT students every year. In addition, the Institute offers different types of scholarship for its students to take part in overseas exchange and internship programmes, as well as activities alike, with an aim to go abroad to study and widen their horizons. Successful applicant of the card can enjoy permanent fee waiver and other benefits such as cash bonus points, payment by installments, BNU Life merchant discount offers, 24 hour customer service hotline, interest free repayment period up to 56 days flexible repayment scheme. Besides, various flexible payment methods are available including by Autopay (minimum or full payment), BNU Online, BNU Direct (Phone Banking), BNU ATM, Jetpayment, cheque or visiting branch counter. About IFT Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 97 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 7 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). About Banco Nacional Ultramarino (BNU) BNU is the first note-issuing bank in Macao, with 114-years of history on supporting and serving the local community. For over a century, BNU has been part of the financial life of Macao while maintaining an active role in the social and economic development of the territory, supporting local business activities. The knowledge and experiences acquired have been essential to bring success to its customers’ businesses and projects in sectors such as retail, real estate, manufacturing, transportation, construction, public utilities and international trade. BNU has been cooperating for the harmonious development of the Macao society with significant contributions, in particular, • the support to the educational system, supporting students of schools and universities with scholarships; • the assistance to the ones in need through partnership with leading organizations in the field; • the support to cultural and sport activities. BNU is part of Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) Group, which is one of Europe’s largest financial institutions with an extensive global network in 23 Countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. CGD has presence in seven Portuguese-speaking countries and holds a leading position in five of them. It is also currently present in Macao, Zhuhai and Shanghai and thus has established a strong platform to link up China and Macao with Portuguese-speaking Countries. BNU has been extremely active in supporting the trade between China and the Portuguese speaking countries, both on the trade and investment flows.
