Bank Muscat: multiple successes in enhancing digital transformation and offering technological services and solutions

Times of Oman

19-04-2025

Muscat: Bank Muscat, the leading financial services provider in the Sultanate of Oman, places significant emphasis on digital transformation to achieve excellence in the banking sector and offer innovative services that meet the needs of individual and corporate customers. By adopting the latest technologies and keeping pace with the rapid developments in the realm of financial technology, the Bank continues to update and improve its services, aiming to provide customers with a secure, efficient, and effective banking experience when initiating their banking transactions. With the rapid evolution of the digital sector, it has become essential for the banking sector to play a leading role in offering banking solutions that facilitate customers' businesses. In this context, Bank Muscat is one of the first banking institutions to embrace the latest digital solutions, ensuring customers have access to innovative banking services that allow them to conduct transactions in a seamless and secure manner.
To highlight the latest developments in this area and as part of a series of media visits which the Bank periodically organises, Bank Muscat held a media meet with a group of journalists and media representatives, with the aim to introduce them to the Bank's digital banking solutions and information technology services. The event comes to highlight the Bank's dedication to embracing digital transformation concepts as part of its strategy focused on providing the best digital banking services to customers.
The media meet featured two presentations outlining the Bank's roles in fields of digital banking as well as information technology. During the detailed presentation on the Bank's digital banking, the audience were introduced to the digital facilities offered to them through the Bank's Internet Banking and Mobile Banking platforms. These include services like opening banking accounts, applying for and renewing debit cards, and requesting for credit cards, as well as payment, money transfer, and investment solutions.
Further to that, the audience were introduced to the services recently fed into the Bank's platforms such as the Eidiya payment online feature through QR code. The Bank's role in implementing information technology projects and leveraging digital technologies and modern information systems for customer service was highlighted during the IT-focused presentation, addressing different subjects including the Bank's strategy in investing in information technology and its achievements in implementing IT projects and programmes. Focus was also placed on the project innovation aspects which the Information Technology Division at Bank Muscat implements. This media meet provided an opportunity for the audience to have conversations with the Bank's officials and strengthen partnership with various media outlets which stand as an important component of the Bank's growth and success.
Speaking about the media visit, Abdullah Hamood Al Jufaili, Assistant General Manager, Digital Banking at Bank Muscat, expressed his appreciation and gratitude to all media institutions and journalists for their ongoing collaboration and interest in learning about the latest updates on the Bank's contributions to enhancing customer experiences through innovative digital banking services.
He stated: 'The Bank is committed to applying digital transformation concepts and investing in modern technologies as essential steps to achieve strategic goals aligned with Oman Vision 2040. Bank Muscat provides modern technological solutions via its Internet Banking and Mobile Banking platforms, enabling customers to benefit from these services with ease, security, and the ability to meet their diverse needs.'
Abdullah Al Jufaili added: 'The Bank's digital channels have become a fundamental element in facilitating the delivery of banking services and speeding up their accessibility for customers, wherever they are. These solutions offer customers a secure, comfortable banking experience, reducing the need to visit the Bank's branches. Bank Muscat continuously enhances its digital channels and banking devices to provide the best services to customers at all times. As a strategic action taken to meet customer expectations and further reaffirm the Bank's commitment to innovation, Bank Muscat recently updated its Mobile Banking App and renewed the advantages of over 200 services and facilities offered on its digital platforms. With the growing popularity of online and mobile banking services, the quality of services has been improved to meet the increasing demand for digital banking solutions. I would like to encourage customers to make the most of these channels for conducting their banking transactions and also thank them for their continued trust in the Bank's services.'
From his side, Mohammed Saud Al Naamani, Deputy General Manager, Business Applications at Bank Muscat, stated that digital banking services at the Bank are a key pillar in enhancing the banking experience for customers. He said: 'Information technology plays a central role in enhancing the security of various banking practices and operations. By adopting the latest technological solutions and applications, the Bank is committed to delivering high-quality digital services, considering the importance of technology in advancing security systems and safeguarding the confidentiality of information against potential threats. Aiming to maintain its enduring customer base, Bank Muscat has launched many initiatives and projects, including the Anti-Fraud Awareness Campaign launched in cooperation with Royal Oman Police (ROP) as well as anti-money laundering initiatives.'
Mohammed Al Naamani added: 'Bank Muscat invests significant amounts in modern systems, applications, and technological solutions to enhance operational efficiency and provide a secure environment for customers. Also, the Bank has established a dedicated unit for technological innovation (Tech Innovation), aimed at continuously exploring options to enhance digital services and employing advanced systems for detecting cybersecurity threats, thus, significantly bolstering security measures. The Bank will uphold its commitment to investing in technology and modern systems to provide the highest levels of security and the most advanced technological solutions.'
The media representatives also talked about their opinions on the Bank's initiative of regularly organizing media visits. Media reporter Mohammed Ahmed Al Shizawi said: 'The initiative is a unique and strategic approach of Bank Muscat rendering it to stand out in the banking sector. Such media visits provide media representatives with an excellent opportunity to gain a closer look at Bank Muscat's efforts in offering various services and solutions. They also help us in addressing our opinions, suggestions, and questions related to these services. I would like to deliver my thanks to Bank Muscat for organizing the event, which demonstrates the Bank's acknowledgment of the importance of media in introducing its services.
From her side, journalist Mai Said Al Abri noted: 'Organising the media visit was very fruitful and beneficial for us, especially for enhancing communication with the Bank's officials and learning about its services. Such events are a sustainable and unique initiative of Bank Muscat. I previously had the opportunity to participate in a number of media visits, during which I learnt much about the Bank's programmes and initiatives as well as the other services offered to individual and corporate customers. I am pleased to have been invited to the event and contribute to its success. Such events play a role in extending the impact of media communicating to the public the updates and developments in the Banking sector.'
Bank Muscat's online banking services and mobile banking app offer a wide range of banking services. For example, customers can transfer funds to and from their accounts or to other accounts within Bank Muscat or other local banks. Parents can also open accounts for their children and easily transfer funds to and from these accounts. Additionally, customers can deactivate or enable their debit, credit, and prepaid cards. To further boost the experience of customers and enable them to benefit from various banking products and services, the Bank offers services such as applying for credit or prepaid cards, car insurance, checkbook requests, bill payments, and more. Moreover, customers can take advantage of international speed transfer services to countries such as India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Egypt, in addition to international transfers via the SWIFT network. The Bank also offers services like a Zakat and donation calculator, updating KYC details, enrolling in the 'Themaar' savings plan, and investing in Bank Muscat's Money Market Fund, Oryx Fund, and Al Tharwa Fund.
In its commitment to staying at the forefront of the digital transformation era and providing innovative banking services to businesses and institutions, Bank Muscat offers a wide range of integrated services tailored to enable customers to complete their transactions quickly, efficiently, and at a lower cost. These services include account opening, insurance products, remote check deposit, and direct debit services. The Bank has also launched an integrated platform for banking transactions, offering a broad array of services including payment processing, liquidity management, and international trade services.
Bank Muscat is leading in financial inclusion, that it upholds commitment to bringing banking services and solutions closer to customers. Bank Muscat is committed to offering banking services to all customers to ease their financial matters and meet their various needs. In addition to the services offered through the Bank's digital channels, customers can benefit from cash deposit and withdrawal services through over 800 ATMs and cash deposit machines across all regions of the Sultanate. These machines also offer services such as withdrawing cash, depositing funds, transferring money, requesting mini-statements, changing PIN numbers, and other everyday banking services. Additionally, the Bank provides self-service kiosks enabling customers to access services such as issuing debit cards.