IslamicFinance.de

Somalia's Sombank selected the Temenos Islamic Banking solution in the cloud to accelerate its digital transformation and create innovative products to increase access to financial services in Somalia. Sombank will implement the full front-to-back Temenos Islamic Banking platform, which combines the capabilities of Temenos Infinity and Temenos Transact. Temenos’ cloud-native technology will allow Sombank to create innovative digital products and offer lower cost services. Currently, Sombank serves customers via branch and online network and representative offices throughout Somalia. The bank will use the Temenos Infinity digital front office to create a unified customer experience for all financial and non-financial services across all channels.

Turkey's Albaraka Türk is targeting Europe's Muslim community with the launch of an interest-free digital banking app. "Insha" is initially being rolled out in Germany ahead of a Europe-wide expansion. It features a document-free account opening process and comes complete with a debit card. In addition to financial products, the app offers a range of Islamic-friendly services including a Zakat Calculator and a "Nearest Mosque" locator. Meliksah Utku, general manager at Albaraka Türk, says that the insha project marks the first step in the bank’s strategic entry into the European market.

Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) marked a new partnership with Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) to promote the growth and development of the FinTech ecosystem in the UAE. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Sagheer Mufti, CEO at ADIB, and Richard Teng, CEO of the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of ADGM. ADIB and ADGM participate in joint innovation projects on digital and mobile payments, blockchain and distributed ledgers and artificial intelligence. Both entities will also seek to develop local FinTech entrepreneurship through mentorship and knowledge transfer across incubation, accelerator, academic and internship programmes. ADIB continues to integrate pioneering FinTech solutions into its banking services. The bank has partnered with Fidor to launch the region’s first community-based digital bank. This year, ADIB launched its new generation of digital branch called ADIB Express and has revamped its internet banking platform to enable an intuitive online banking experience.

#Malaysian fintech HelloGold is the first online gold platform to be endorsed as Shariah compliant by the Shariah Supervisory Board of Amanie Advisors. CEO Robin Lee showcased the savings platform at the global launch of the Shariah Standard on Gold at the World Islamic Banking Conference. According to Lee, with this platform everyone can buy gold and users are able to buy investment grade gold easily through their smartphones. He added that gold is a particularly good safe haven investment against foreign exchange risk and market shocks. Over the last 12 months, gold has risen by 17% against the Malaysian ringgit, 10% against the Thai baht, 9% against the Indonesian rupiah, 17% against the Philippine peso and 12% against the Singapore dollar. The HelloGold app is now available for use in Malaysia and is currently available on Google Play.

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has partnered with Fidor Bank to launch the region’s first 'community based digital bank'. The new platform is designed to fit the lifestyle of millennial consumers also known as Generation Y. Fidor Bank is Europe’s original digital challenger bank. The bank centres around an online community, where users can exchange financial advice and also help co-create banking products. According to CEO of ADIB, Tirad Al Mahmoud, the new platform will allow users to completely change the way they bank and manage their finances using digital technology to serve all their banking needs. The 'new digital bank' will be available for existing and new customers to sign up to in the upcoming months.

Indonesian Bank Muamalat has implemented Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking to streamline its core business processes and to enhance productivity. Oracle FLEXCUBE is now live across all of Bank Muamalat's branches and e-channel network (ATM, EDC, etc) including mobile branches. It covers its retail and corporate banking business, including treasury and trade, all in compliance with Shariah Laws. The implementation was completed well within time and within Budget. By implementing Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking, the institution has been able to improve business processes and significantly reduce processing times required for financial and administrative transactions. FLEXCUBE has helped to support 24-hour banking operations as well as enable enhanced customer insight and simulations to deliver excellent customer service.

Al Rajhi Bank has launched a new online banking portal to provide its customers with online self-service tools. The new internet banking platform is built using Backbase's Bank 2.0 Portal technology and implemented by Al Rajhi's IT department in partnership with Thales. Backbase allows the banking client to be in control of their portal and makes it possible for Al Rajhi customers to customize their banking interface to their personal needs and preferences. For the e-business side, Backbase allows for cross- and up-sell capabilities along with the ability to target relevant content and functionality to the right customer segments and individual customers.