Members News

ICS Financial Systems Limited (ICSFS), the global software and services provider for banks and financial institutions, is proud to announce that its leader Mr. Robert Hazboun is recognized as one of the top 20 CEOs of the year 2017 by the CEO Insight Magazine.

The CEO Insight Global awards acknowledge best practice and innovation across the business community, the list reflects the best and the brightest pioneers in business today, they shine a spotlight on the people that lead the pack in terms of innovation. However, the best CEOs generally deliver strong performance over many years, and its list of top performers features the business leaders who have proved themselves over. the entire length of their tenure.

The publisher of CEO Insight Magazine, Mr. Jamie Harrison commented;

“Mr. Robert Hazboun has continuously demonstrated excellence over many years leading the global growth of ICS Financial Systems (ICSFS). His brand leadership, customer focus and corporate culture skill sets has advanced and accelerated the awareness of the ICSFS brand, the adoption of ICSFS solutions and the penetration of new products and new markets.”

Mr. Robert Hazboun, Managing Director of ICSFS, commented on this occasion:

“We are delighted to receive such an award, as we, at ICSFS have been considered as a global leader in embracing innovative technology, delivering superior services accompanied by strong performance.” Hazboun added; “I am proud of our achievements, where this award symbolises my contribution to ICSFS’ objective in offering bespoke state-of-art financial products and services.”

ICS Financial Systems Limited (ICSFS), the global software and services provider for banks and financial institutions, announced that International Islamic Bank (IIB), a newly established bank in Iraq, has selected the multi-awards winning system ICS BANKS® ISLAMIC.

International Islamic bank (IIB) is a newly registered Iraqi bank that will be offering banking and financial services in Iraq.  IIB will be implementing ICSFS’ universal Islamic flagship, ICS BANKS ISLAMIC, and will be provided with its world-class fully integrated banking solutions that are designed and developed following the principles of Shari’a of which;  ICS BANKS ISLAMIC Core Banking,) Murabaha, Musharaka, Ijara, Istisnaa, Mudaraba, Salam, Qard Hasan, Time Deposit, Profit Distribution( Trade Finance, Credit Facilities & Risk Groups, Remittances, ICS BANKS Internet Banking and SMS Banking, and ICS BANKS ERP Suite; Fixed Assets, Accounts Payable, Procurement to drive automation and innovation within its various banking operations and business requirements.

The signing ceremony took place at ICSFS’ regional office in Amman, Jordan. Attending the ceremony were the Deputy CEO of International Islamic Bank; Mrs. Suha Al-Kifae, Deputy Chairman of Board of International Islamic Bank; Mr. Haider AL-Baghdadi and the Executive Director of Business Development at ICSFS; Mr. Wael Malkawi.

Following the signing ceremony, Deputy CEO of International Islamic Bank; Mrs. Suha Al-Kifae commented:

“As our business will be starting to grow domestically and internationally, we were look
ing for a powerful partner that is able to cover and understand all minor and major financial operations, to assist us in streamlining and delivering the bespoke products and services to the international and local market. That is why we have selected ICSFS to be our technology partner. On another hand, ICSFS is very well known for its wide expertise in the Iraqi financial banking sector, we are confident that we will be able to improve our operational efficiency, and provide the utmost products and services to our customers by banking on ICS BANKS ISLAMIC.”

On this occasion, the Executive Director of Business Development at ICSFS; Mr. Wael Malkawi commented:

“We are proud of our remarkable success in the Iraqi market, as we are expanding across the country and are receiving the highest-ranking figures amongst our peers.” Malkawi continued; “A wide bright future is set for ICSFS’ goals and targets in this market, as our banking solutions are being favored. We are glad that International Islamic Bank has joined us in our flourishing journey where the bank will definitely enjoy ICS BANKS ISLAMIC unlimited offerings and advantages.”

ICS BANKS ISLAMIC provides a complete suite of banking business modules with a rich sweep of functionalities and features, addressing business needs and automating accounting processes, as needed, to improve a bank’s business performance. ICS BANKS ISLAMIC has always been a pioneer in utilising the latest technology to serve financial institutions. In addition to its embedded Service-Oriented-Architecture (SOA), the system is deployed in a multi-tiered setup that runs on a web thin client.

ESKADENIA Software is proud to announce the successful conclusion of the implementation of eight of its ESKA^® Insures and ESKA^® Business Manager Software Systems with Jerusalem Insurance Company 3 months after Project Initiation. The deployment project was initiated in December 2016 and fully closed in March 2017 with a celebration by all involved at the offices of Jerusalem Insurance. The record short time needed to deploy the Core Insurance and Enterprise systems serves as a case study highlighting the maturity of ESKADENIA Software’s Systems and their ease of implementation.

The implementations are the result of the strategic partnership between ESKADENIA and JICO to deploy ESKA^® Insures & ESKA^® Business Manager Software suite to support its business processes including General Insurance, Medical Insurance, Life Insurance, Travel Insurance, Financial, Approval, Notification, and HR & Payroll Systems.

The highly-efficient and easily customizable insurance systems allow JICO to automate and facilitate operations to help reduce operational cost, increase revenue, save time, and enhance the general perception of JICO’s business. The ESKA^® Insures & Business Manager Software suite also have very flexible and powerful features to minimize customization needed to comply to insurer rules, regulations, and integration with third party systems, in addition to detailed and accumulative reporting.

Imad Morrar, General Manager of JICO, commented “I, on behalf of the Jerusalem Insurance Co.’s team would like to thank ESKADENIA and its entire team for their efforts which resulted in successfully completing the project on time. Thanks to their hard work and dedication, Jerusalem Insurance Company has been equipped with a fully functional very advanced IT system in a record time.”

Mohammad Alayyan, Board Member of JICO, commented “I commend ESKADENIA on a job well done and appreciate the hard work and commitment by the Jerusalem Insurance team. Without the dedication and cooperation of both parties, this IT system would not have been up and running in such a short period of time.”

ICS Financial Systems (ICSFS), the global software and services provider for banks and financial institutions, will be exhibiting at the Sub‐Saharan Africa Islamic Finance Convention & Innovation 2017 in Uganda, which is a new frontier of opportunity of Islamic finance expansion in the region, and will be held at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel, on the 6^th of April 2017.

The purpose of the Sub-Saharan Africa Islamic Finance Convention is to build on the gathering’s position as a strong platform for the growth of the industry that will not only help to establish Uganda as an exciting investment destination but also enable the development of the broader Sub-Saharan market.  The expansion of Islamic finance in the region is providing new growth opportunities and propelling faster trade and economic growth in Sub‐Saharan Africa.

ICS Financial Systems will be showcasing its flagship; ICS BANKS ISLAMIC solutions in stand number11, which provides a complete suite of banking business modules with a rich sweep of functionalities and features, addressing business needs and automating accounting processes, as needed, to improve a bank’s business performance. ICS BANKS ISLAMIC has always been a pioneer in utilising the latest technology to serve financial institutions. In addition to its embedded Service-Oriented-Architecture (SOA), the system is deployed in a multi-tiered setup that runs on a web thin client.

STS, the leading company in providing complete all-round Information Technology (IT) solutions in Jordan and the region, has been awarded the “Oracle Data Base Partner of the Year 2017” by Oracle Sun for Levant, Egypt, and North Africa (LEENA).

STS was nominated from a pool of candidates in the region and was subsequently chosen as the winner for being the most competent partner; offering service excellence in projects executed in the kingdom and the region. The achievement even holds more significance considering that this was the second consecutive year in which STS managed to retain its throne by getting awarded the Oracle Partner of the Year.

The award was announced and presented to STS Marketing and Communications Manager, Mr. Zaid Al Azab, at a ceremony which took place at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza in Cairo, Egypt. Commenting on the decoration STS received from Oracle Sun, Mr. Zaid Al Azab affirmed the depth of the partnership between STS and Oracle Sun while emphasizing STS’ eagerness to continue reaping success and recognition on the regional front.

Upon receiving the award, Zaid Al Azab said: “This honoring represents great pride as it validates the level of excellence which STS has always operated within. This achievement comes as a result of the stoic and hardworking team spirit that STS has possessed since its establishment, and will certainly entice us to continue along this path as the award highlight STS’ strong work ethic, both locally and regionally.”

A glimpse on STS:

For over two decades, STS has led the market in providing diverse IT solutions to Jordan and MENA. Based in Jordan with regional offices in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Palestine and Iraq, and with distributors in most countries of the MENA region, STS has positioned itself as a key player in the revolutionary transformation of the information technology sector. With its long-standing partnerships with industry pioneers such as Cisco, Dell, IBM, Microsoft, Oracle Sun EMC, Corning and others, STS maintains a firm leading position among the best providers of turnkey solutions to more than 1000 customers serving various sectors of the economy including Financial Services, Telecommunication, Government, Health, Education and SMB’s.

In cooperation with Fujitsu -its strategic partner in Egypt- SEDCO hosted the Digital Transformation Solutions Conference to elite businesses from 22^nd to 24^th February at Mövenpick hotel in Egypt.

 During the event, a live presentation in how to utilize SEDCO’s comprehensive Customer Experience Management (CEM) solutions was illustrated to 40 decision makers from financial and telecom industries. The presentation was followed by a live demo, which gave the audience the opportunity to interact with SEDCO’s CEM platform that offers convenient customer journeys anytime, anywhere.

“In the digitalization era we live, it is always a big pleasure meeting our customers and introducing them to the most recent innovations in the world,” Sameh Lasheen, Head of Presales and Sales Operations in Fujitsu – Egypt stated.

“Our partnership with SEDCO is built on a strong foundation to transform the customer experience to an exceptional level,” he added.

 In parallel, Mohammed Adi, Regional Sales Manager at SEDCO, commented, “Hosting such an event comes in line with SEDCO’s vision to support its partners worldwide, while getting the chance to interact directly with businesses and highlight the importance of adopting the smart branch experience/ concept along with alternative channels to cover all possible customer journeys across every touchpoint inside and outside the store”.

ProgressSoft, a world leading provider of real-time payment solutions concluded a highly promising and successful inaugural participation at the Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona. Following exponential growth, ProgressSoft has moved into the mobile industry, presenting its latest suite of Mobile Payment products in the largest mobile industry event around the world.

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona attracted over 110,000 attendees from 208 countries and territories to view the more than 2,300 exhibitors offering the latest in cutting edge mobile technology.

Exhibiting in this international event, ProgressSoft received a great amount of attention from delegates and exhibitors from countries all over the world including the United States, Latin America, Africa, Europe, the Far and the Middle East including the GCC countries, who were all impressed by the advancements ProgressSoft has made in payment solutions, enabling real-time and mobile payments.

ProgressSoft’s stand was visited by high profile dignitaries including the Governor of the Central Bank of Oman, H.E. Mr. Hamood Al Zadjali, who by his visit alone affirmed the long-standing support given to the company by way of the partnership between ProgressSoft and the Central Bank of Oman. ProgressSoft has worked with the Central Bank of Oman on a number of nationwide business endeavors including the implementation of the countrywide real-time Electronic Check Clearing (PS-ECC) system, Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (PS-EBPP), Automated Clearing House (PS-ACH), Mandate Management System, Mobile Payment Switching & Clearing (PS-mpClear) and Wage Protection System (PS-WPS), which have made the clearing and settlement of payments more convenient and efficient there.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Djibouti, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Osman, had an engaging and fruitful visit to ProgressSoft’s exhibition stand. His Excellency Mr. Osman was delighted to discover the Mobile Payment suite ProgressSoft offers and to view a live demonstration of the solutions. The Governor is familiar with ProgressSoft’s solutions having discussed them before, and his visit to the stand affirmed the importance of the company’s integrated solutions and the benefits that they offer on a national level.

Representing the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in Jordan, H.E. Ms. Majd Shweikeh, the Minister of ICT, attended the event to support Jordanian companies exhibiting their solutions at MWC. Her Excellency was significantly impressed and proud to witness the strong presence of Jordanian talent on display at ProgressSoft’s booth.

During MWC, ProgressSoft demonstrated its advanced countrywide Mobile Payment Solution (PS-mPay), which facilitates domestic and cross-border remittances for both banked and un-banked customers. This solution offers payment services that include Person-to-Person, Person-to-Business and Person-to-Government Money Transfers, in addition to Bill Payment, Direct Credits and Point-of-Sale Payments. PS-mPay was demonstrated in a live setup during MWC 2017, using a similar environment to that which was implemented in Egypt with the cooperation with e-finance, where ProgressSoft customized the solution to satisfy the needs of the Egyptian market. ProgressSoft’s Mobile Payment services that are being used by Egypt now have grown considerably to include bill payments, university tuition fees, salary and pension payments, as well as shopping at several malls and shopping centers.

Mr. Michael Wakileh, the CEO of ProgressSoft, expressed his delight at the exposure garnered at the event. “In MWC 2017 we are no more presenting solutions, we are here to convey the future of payments through the mobile to people, businesses, mobile operators and banks.  We will unleash to the world a new era with an unprecedented payment ecosystem. “

ProgressSoft also demonstrated its Mobile Payment Switching & Clearing solution (PS-mpClear) to MWC attendees, which is responsible for processing inter-bank and inter-processor mobile payment transactions. PS-mpClear supports processing and switching mobile financial and non-financial transactions on an STP basis and routing messages between multiple mobile payment service providers, ensuring interoperability.

Visitors from FinTech institutions including banks, central banks, mobile network operators, and software development companies were impressed by the cutting edge technology ProgressSoft offers, enabling countrywide real-time mobile payments.