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Cairo Amman Bank (CAB) recently signed an Exclusive Cooperation Agreement with Network International Jordan, the local arm of the leading enabler of digital commerce in the Middle East and Africa, to enable the bank to offer a variety of cards and digital payment products. The move aims to enhance the Jordanian and regional banking market while better serving the needs of CAB’s broad customer base.

The agreement was signed by the CEO of Cairo Amman Bank, Kamal Al-Bakri, and Amjad Al Sadeq, CEO of Network International Jordan, in the presence of key representatives from both sides.

Under the agreement, CAB and Network will collaborate to provide various card issuance-related electronic services to fulfill the needs of the bank’s customers, boost CAB’s competitive advantage, and provide enhanced banking experiences for card holders.

Commenting on the agreement, Al-Bakri said: “We look forward to working with Network Jordan which has extensive experience in electronic payments. This partnership enables us to provide innovative payment products and solutions to our credit card holders as part of the bank’s vision to expand its customer base and credit card portfolio, which in turn enhances our position in the local and regional markets.”

For his part, Al Sadeq expressed his organization’s eagerness to support Cairo Amman Bank with highly secure and reliable electronic payment solutions and products powered by the latest technological developments. He explained that Network will manage the bank’s cards, process payments, and provide the necessary technical support to ensure the smooth operation of the bank’s credit card portfolio to enable it to focus on its core banking functions.

This development is in line with the accelerating shift away from cash and Network International’s commitment to the advancement of payment systems and cashless societies.

As part of its continuous contributions towards the entrepreneurship sector in the kingdom, along with its role in linking the start-up founders and entrepreneurs across Jordan to well-known & regional accelerators and incubators, to provide them with opportunities to grow and develop, Zain Innovation Campus (ZINC) held a discussion session with Techstars Accelerator. The session was moderated by the Entrepreneurial Advisor, Nidal Qanadilo, at ZINC main branch located at KHBP, with the participation of Vijay Tirathrai Techstars managing director, and numerous successful Jordanian start-ups founders, who accomplished remarkable achievements on local, regional and global scales: Yousef Wadi CEO & Co-founder of NESTROM, Mohammad Issa, Co-founder of Medical ONEX, & Yahya Aqel CEO & founder of Aumet, the session also was attended by representatives of startups, entrepreneurs, youth, in addition to a group of representatives of Jordanian incubators and accelerators who are interested in the field.

Zain Innovation Campus organized this session with the aim of searching for distinguished Jordanian start-ups to support them in unlocking markets access, in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), the session also focused on sharing the experience of conducting & ensuring new partnerships & raising capital to help these start-up founders develop their ideas into viable businesses.

The company shaping the Islamic bank of the future

ICS Financial Systems is recognized worldwide for its digital innovation and its Shariah-compliant software is extending both its customer and client base

The modern Islamic finance industry is young but evolving rapidly, serving a growing population of Muslims as well as non-Muslims. According to the Global Islamic Finance Markets Report 2019, the industry’s total worth, in conjunction with key industry stakeholder organizations across its three main sectors (banking, capital markets and takaful), was estimated to be $2.05trn in 2017, marking an 8.3 percent growth in assets in USD terms.

Shariah stipulation is a prime driver of digitalisation and ICS Financial Systems (ICSFS) is one of the first providers of Islamic banking software applications in the industry, with a customer-first approach and streamlined services of its epic best-of-breed technologies. World Finance spoke with the company’s managing director Robert Hazboun to learn about the challenges of digitalising Islamic banks.

How has the pandemic hastened digital changes for the bank?
The pandemic has forced the Islamic banking industry to quickly grow its market ecosystem by embracing new digital trends. We saw Islamic banks taking the lead in adopting digital transformation, and I believe we will see a significant increase in the adoption of Islamic Shariah-compliant products by many conventional banks, and even countries. The pandemic has also accelerated the creation of Islamic fintechs, which are embracing digital tools in every step of the customer journey, from onboarding to digital lending and automatic payments.

What do you consider the key essentials for the Islamic bank of the future?
It must create innovative product strategies to meet customer expectations and trends, by studying and analysing behaviour. Consumer behaviour is constantly changing – millennials are referred to as tech-savvy and now Generation Z is the tech-native generation.

The Islamic bank of the future must embrace dynamic product building with business intelligence (BI), artificial intelligence (AI), robotics and vast touchpoints coverage with omnichannel experience. It is also essential to embrace fintech’s agility to take advantage of the opportunities that its innovations are bringing to the market. Islamic banks need business technology partners that provide financial inclusion, full coverage of Islamic finance, open banking, cloud availability and, most importantly, RegTech solutions.

What are the biggest challenges you and your customers face in becoming an effective digital presence?
Islamic banking is an interest-free investment house rather than the interest-based money lending institute model of conventional banking, which would lead to sharing profit and risk. This can cause a number of challenges.
There are major Islamic finance Shariah standards such as AAOIFI and IFSB.

Also, various intellectuals look at Islamic financing differently, with each country, region and even bank having its own Shariah board to set rules and regulations. Having an interconnected Islamic finance ecosystem that covers all lines of business is therefore essential. Islamic finance is based on a trade contract, and contract control is a major undertaking. Precise paperwork is a must for contracts and handling them is a difficult issue.

The pandemic has forced the Islamic banking industry to quickly grow its market ecosystem by embracing new digital trends

Another challenge is that there is no single methodology used for product development. Additionally, Shariah regulations obligate the bank to have constant interactions with the customer, so maintaining focus on the customer is difficult.

One of the major challenges that ICSFS has seen as an Islamic banking software provider is that many Islamic banks have embarked on product-led digital solutions rather than taking a holistic approach. Another is that since Islamic banking products must be Shariah-compliant, the processing cycle takes a long time because more manual processes are needed.

Also, there is no standardisation or harmonisation of documentation, which increases the cost of transactions compared to conventional peers. All banks face challenges. We must all apply operational risk management, and have solid cyber security and business continuity strategies to be able to expand our digital offerings.

How does your ICS BANKS Islamic banking software suite provide the key essentials for a true Islamic bank and what benefits does it bring to clients?
ICSFS is one of the first providers of Islamic banking software applications in the industry, with a customer-first approach and streamlined services for its best-of-breed technologies. ICSFS launched its ICS BANKS Islamic banking software almost 20 years ago, based on Shariah law and with the aim of covering the full Islamic finance ecosystem cycle.

The suite is designed to cover all Islamic banking requirements and cater to each bank’s Shariah regulations, with agility one of its core virtues. It provides Islamic banking essentials such as a strong, flexible, fast and reliable industry-approved profit distribution engine.

It also provides full Shariah-compliance, covering the various intellectual Islamic views in different regions. It utilises business process management (BPM) and a document management system (DMS) to help automate processes and save time. Additionally, it offers extensive customer engagement through omnichannel touchpoints and open APIs to connect to the outside world and support fintech activities.

Explain how your software works with cloud banking and what are the benefits.
The software’s unique features allow any bank to compete in the market, and can be deployed either in a fully-fledged Islamic bank, or as an Islamic window for a conventional bank.

A DMS enables a fast-accurate flow of documents. The software is built based on AAOIFI and IFSB standards, with the capability of accommodating various intellectual standards and local Shariah regulations. Constant interaction with the customer is made during processes via various omnichannel touchpoints.

Geographical and transaction limits are fading away because of robotics, AI and digital coverage, while the online reporting and inquiries tools such as business intelligence (BI) and management information system (MIS) and cloud reduce infrastructure costs.

Digital touchpoints include open banking, open API architecture and a holistic cloud platform for real financial inclusion. It profiles customer engagement offering unified solutions with smooth processes across business lines for increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

We offer high security and scalability. Our dynamic product building offers RegTech solutions and adopts an agile approach to drive productivity and efficiency, stop revenue leakage and increase profitability. Combined, this offers a lower total cost of ownership (TCO) and time to market. Our Islamic banking software is fully integrated and provides open products with international standards, real-time business processing and the value-added capabilities of tailoring products, on-premises or on the cloud. It future-proofs banking activities by providing a broad range of seamless and flexible features.

Are there advantages to being more digital in this time of myriad regulations?
The regulation is a critical challenge in having a digital presence. Shariah-compliant products have a long processing cycle. An automated process tightens the cycle while keeping operational costs at a minimum and maximising revenue and growth. Our software adds a competitive edge. Banks can rely on banking and financial technology providers to refine their Islamic products to suit their clients’ needs while addressing regulations and remain Shariah-compliant.

Looking into the future, innovation of processes and modernisation of the delivery of products that are Shariah-compliant are key.

ICSFS has always been one of the leading companies in providing award-winning banking and financial services and best-of-breed products. It is recognised on a global level for its devotion to excellence and customer satisfaction. ICS BANKS Islamic is no exception to this rule. The software was built brick-by-brick on delivering real value to customers and is designed to be hassle-free with customer satisfaction at the top of the agenda. From trouble-free implementation, through support for its wide range of functionalities and features, to peace of mind on free upgrades, it keeps customers’ operational costs at a minimum, while maximising revenue and growth.

Network International, the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa, has joined forces with STS PayOne, a leading regional provider of payment acceptance technology, to provide hotels in Jordan with a payment acceptance service that is fully integrated to the hotel’s Property Management System (PMS).

Powered by STS PayOne, this first-of-its kind service in Jordan enables hotels to receive payments from its guests before arriving at the property using the “pay-by-link” mechanism. Additionally, it enables the hotel to streamline the payment experience of their guests upon checking-in, during their stay and throughout their check-out process by integrating Point of Sale (POS) terminals to the hotel’s PMS and providing the hotel with an ultra-secure card tokenization functionality.

Utilizing this solution, a hotel can digitize the guest payment experience, automate payment reconciliation efforts, minimize chargebacks and prevent losses caused by last-minute cancelations and no-shows. The solution also enhances guest satisfaction levels by enabling express check-out (or self-check-out) without exposing guest’s credit card details to the hotel.

Speaking from Network International on the new digitized experience, Mr. Amjad Al Sadeq, Chief Executive Officer – Jordan, said: “We are always striving to provide the best solutions to our merchants. By leveraging STS PayOne’s cutting-edge payment acceptance technology for hotels, Network International continues to differentiate its services and strengthen its position as a market leader.”

Mr. Janti Abdallah, General Manager of STS PayOne, added: “At STS PayOne, we aim to respond to the rising demand for adaptable payment technologies for the hospitality sector. This collaboration with Network International is another remarkable achievement and will change perspectives on payment acceptance standards for hotels in Jordan.”

the Jordan-based IT services firm with pioneering software engineering, quality assurance, and network operations center support capabilities – has commemorated its 20^th anniversary by launching a technology consulting practice. This was announced during an event –  held under the patronage of the Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, H.E. Ahmad Hanandeh – that was attended by distinguished industry and business leaders; a host of Aspire team members; and local and regional media representatives.

Building on two decades of delivering services for omnichannel software and product development; digital transformation (Agile, Cloud and DevOps); quality engineering and testing; infrastructure support; and bespoke software and mobile engineering – Aspire has now added digital consulting services to its offerings.

These new services include digital strategy and enterprise architecture consulting; tech sourcing advisory; strategic management; and emerging technology advisory in cyber security consulting, intelligent automation, data and analytics, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity; among others – bringing 20 years of extensive experience within the US market to enable clients across Jordan and the region to accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

“This occasion is one of celebration when we pause, reflect and express our heartfelt gratitude towards our clients across the globe and the hundreds of incredibly talented, motivated and dedicated Aspirers without whom these successes would not have been possible. This also signals the start of the next phase of growth for Aspire as we reinvent ourselves as a full-service technology company committed to strengthening the tech capabilities of our clients throughout Jordan, the region and the world – whatever their business challenges may be – and empowering them to shine within the digital sphere,” commented Aspire Founder and Managing Director, Kaushal Shah.

The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) launches Petra Museum website in collaboration with Echo Technology under the domain www.petramuseum.jo following the latest websites design and development technologies aiming to enriching, translating, and clarifying Petra historical content of the Museum and providing it in a clear and modern way to the audience along with keeping pace with the latest global development technologies.

The website provides an overview to the museum and its historical content, with an interactive 360 map that enables the website visitor to take a closeup look over its sections and encourages them to visit the Museum. The website has a set of components that explain the museum’s collection of artifacts in an interactive and modern way. In addition, the site previews the museum’s calendar of events, so the visitor is aware of the museum’s latest news and events, along with a number of other information related to the museum and its publications.

CRIF Information Technology Solutions is a proud member of EDAMA,  a Jordanian NGO established in 2009 in response to Jordan’s energy, environment, and water security needs. As a Business Association, EDAMA cultivates an environment where innovative solutions for energy and water independence and environmental conservation emerge.

CRIF Group has long been committed to digital and financial inclusion, working responsibly to deliver innovative solutions that improve access to credit and enable excluded and underserved people to access financial services. While improving social inclusion, and thereby

reducing inequality is a company priority, CRIF Group has recently taken a key role in developing practices, models, tools, and services for sustainable business development.

CRIF Information technology Solutions now provides the Jordan market with Synesgy, the new generation sustainability platform, we are happy to be the digital solution partner of companies that pioneer ESG criteria.

For more information contact us at crif_its@crif.com or visit https://www.synesgy.com/it/