Having deployed the PRIME card management system since 2003, QIB added PRIME Perso, TSYS’ value-added personalisation system, to form an end-to-end solution for issuing EMV cards in-house.

The solution will also underpin QIB’s future operations to issue Visa Classic, Visa Platinum and Visa Gold credit cards later this year.

‘By leveraging PRIME’s modular architecture, we were able to swiftly implement PRIME Perso to form a single, integrated solution for our EMV chip card launch,’ said Abdul Latif Al Meer, general manager of retail at Qatar Islamic Bank. ‘We are now in a position to benefit from all the economic and operational advantages relating to one solution, one vendor.’

‘We pride ourselves in delivering added-value solutions on time and within budget, and our most recent project with QIB attests to this,’ said Jaffar Agha-Jaffar, managing director, TSYS MEA. ‘PRIME Perso enables QIB to issue chip cards from its branches, thereby increasing both operational efficiency and security to its customers.’

PRIME Perso operates in conjunction with PRIME Issuer and is compliant with VSDC and MasterCard M/Chip. Its capabilities include all aspects of personalisation, including managing and processing enriched cardholder data, to final card production and embossing.

Within the bank’s first few months of operations, the establishment of the relationship marks Al Hilal’s entry into the Islamic banking sector as a major player, setting itself up for a significant contributing role in the UAE economy.

Mohamed Jamil Berro, CEO, Al Hilal Bank said: ‘We are pleased to announce our partnership with Etihad Airways. Having cemented our relationship with a company that is already known for its progressive and industry-changing practices, we feel it particularly appropriate that Etihad Airways is one of our first airline customers.’

‘This agreement is an ideal step forward on our path to become a critical player in the growth and economic development of the UAE,’ continued Berro.

Al Hilal Bank has already established itself as a key player in the local financial sector and has partnered with a number of strategically significant institutions and government bodies within the UAE.

James Hogan, chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, said: ‘These are exciting times for Etihad as the airline continues to grow and establish itself on the global stage. It is, however, equally important for us to develop and nurture strong relationships in the local market, especially with partners which share our vision and objectives in Abu Dhabi.’

‘We have every confidence that our corporate banking agreement with Al Hilal will meet our financial objectives and we look forward to working with the bank in developing our Sharia’a compliant banking activities, especially in the area of finance and investments.’

In its initial stages of operation, Al Hilal Bank has broken new ground in creating a more approachable service offering than what has been traditionally available in the market, while maintaining Sharia’a compliance.

An example of the bank’s fresh new take on banking is the company’s innovative format for consumer interaction, the Financial Mall.

By providing Al Hilal patrons a holistic atmosphere where customers can not only bank but engage in a specialized experience catered to their individual needs, Al Hilal has set a new standard in the banking sector.

With this unique infrastructure in place, Al Hilal expects to enjoy enormous success very quickly.

With its innovative approach to Islamic finance, customer service and location, it has already captured the imagination of customers and soon foresees growth beyond the national boundaries of the UAE.

Visa Money Transfer makes it easier and more secure for people in Europe, the Middle East and Asia to send and receive funds.

Visa Money Transfer, a card-based service enabling a Visa cardholder to send funds conveniently and securely to another Visa cardholder, debuted in Ukraine in 2003 and launched in Egypt in 2004.

Since then, the service has been extended to millions of people who no longer need to wait at a money transfer agent’s office, but instead can use the convenience and security of their 16-digit Visa account number to send and receive money.

Depending on their issuing bank, they can execute the transfer at a bank branch, using the internet, via an ATM or via mobile phone.

‘Visa’s growth has been the result of an unwavering commitment to finding innovative ways to use our network and products to make payments more secure and more convenient,’ said Tarek Elhousseiny, Visa’s General Manager for North and West Africa.

Elhousseiny added, ‘Our approach to person-to-person payments and remittances is to use our global technology to create tailored solutions for various countries and apply what we’ve learned to expand the service worldwide.’

The demand for money transfer includes domestic remittances, person-to-person payments and remittances by expatriate workers who continue to have commitments in their home countries. In addition to cardholder convenience, money transfer programs enable financial institutions to better meet the needs of their existing customers.

Since 2003, a total of 46 Visa Money Transfer programs have been rolled out in around the world including Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, France, Georgia, Greece, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Malaysia, Morocco, Russia, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine. While the Asia Pacific region is leading the deployment of new Visa Money Transfer programs, significant momentum has been gained in Central Europe and the Middle East.

Visa’s goal is to utilize its global processing platform and payments network to make money transfer between the 1.6 billion Visa cards around the world safe, convenient and reliable. To this end, Visa is continually enhancing existing programs and developing new services.
Work underway includes technology infrastructure improvements to support global processing of card-based remittances, and to open new channels through which remittances can be sent and received, including through financial institution branches, the internet, mobile devices and Visa’s global ATM network.

Al Rayan is a Sharia’a compliant education specific holding company established in Kuwait, which mainly focuses on acquiring educational institutions and running them with the highest professional standards. Al Rayan is promoted by Global and is considered one of its products in the Kuwaiti market.

Al Rayan’s mission is to create an educational infrastructure in Kuwait with the highest international standards. This will impart the best of knowledge and skills to every young individual to help them develop and nurture their talents to their fullest extent which will in turn contribute in building a ‘knowledgeable society’ that will help meet Kuwait’s vision of creating a non-oil dependant and diversified economy.

Currently, Al Rayan has ownership of five schools in Kuwait which include the New Pakistan International School and College, Kuwait International English School, Fahaheel Al Watanieh India Private School, Canadian School, and the Arabic School (FAS for Boys) and (FAS for Girls) raising the number of total students to around 7300, with a potential strength of about 12500 students.

Mr. Shailesh Dash, Senior Vice President at Global declared that: ‘The Educational Financing Program aims to help parents cover the tuition fees of their children in convenient installments. This will give parents an opportunity to enroll their kids at leading schools in Kuwait.’

He also added that the relationship between Al Rayan and ABK is strategic and will be mutually beneficial to both parties.

It is worth mentioning that the educational sector is deemed to be one of the economic sectors that recently experienced an investment activity boost and it is expected to accomplish considerable growth in the near future.

Throughout the holy month, customers can avail of special offers on ‘MyHome’ mortgage loans, ‘MyCar’ auto loans and AUB Credit Cards. At the same time AUB is also launching ‘FlexiLoan’ – a new product that allows customers to set off their monthly savings and bonus payments against outstanding loan amount and thereby reduce monthly interest expenses.

With MyHome mortgage loans, customers can either take out a new mortgage loan or transfer their existing mortgage to AUB and receive up to 8% cash back on a 25 year loan.

This amount, in certain cases, could be sufficient to buy a car or to furnish their home.

In addition, customers will also benefit from facilities such as a higher loan amount, down payment as low as 15% of the value of the loan, low starting installments plus additional finance to own a second home.

This Ramadan AUB is also launching a new consumer loan product called FlexiLoan.

This loan has been structured such that the customers can set off additional amounts deposited like savings and bonus payments against the outstanding loan amount at their convenience.

This excess payment reduces the loan outstanding and thus reduces the interest charged to the customer.

The unique structure also allows the customers to draw down any excess payments at any time over the period of loan.

Owning an automobile has become easier this Ramadan with AUB’s MyCar Auto Loans. Customers can avail of a 3% cash back and benefit from low interest rates and affordable repayment solutions.

In addition, with AUB Credit Cards, customers get the advantage of making purchases from selected retailers and repaying the amounts in convenient installments at 0% interest.

This Ramadan offer also includes 0% interest on balance amounts transferred from other credit cards for 60 days, zero annual fees on Gold Credit Cards for life and for the first year on Classic Credit Cards.

‘At Ahli United Bank, we aim to provide customers with product offerings that meet their requirements. We understand that with the advent of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the school year, customers need convenient financing solutions. Our Ramadan offerings aim to provide for affordable financial solutions to all customers.’ said Abdulla Al-Raeesi, Deputy Group CEO-Retail Banking, Ahli United Bank.