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95% of BankDhofar customers were served in less than 10 minutes

95% of BankDhofar customers were served in less than 10 minutes

Zawya27-01-2025

MUSCAT: BankDhofar, the second largest bank in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of the number of branches, announced that it has achieved serving 95% of its customers in its various branches spread across the Sultanate of Oman within less than 10 minutes, which reflects BankDhofar's continuous efforts to satisfy customers and respect their valuable time.
BankDhofar's readiness to provide its banking services to its customers from all segments of society by reducing waiting hours in branches to no more than 10 minutes from entering the branch until the service begins indicates BankDhofar's commitment to achieving excellence in providing banking services through its 131 branches spread across the Sultanate of Oman, which keeps the bank close to its customers, provides easy access to a comprehensive range of financial services and responds to various inquiries and comments.
This initiative does not only highlight the bank's focus on efficiency but also its understanding of the fast-paced nature of modern life, where time is of the essence. By minimizing wait times and streamlining processes, BankDhofar aims to provide a seamless banking experience that leaves customers feeling valued and appreciated.
The bank has developed a wide-ranging suite of products tailored to meet the diverse needs of its customer base. Whether catering to youth, ladies, priority banking customers, or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), BankDhofar's relationship banking model is designed to enhance the financial well-being of its customers. Each product and service offering are carefully crafted to address the unique requirements of different customer segments, ensuring personalized solutions that contribute to their financial success.
Through this step, the bank ensures that every customer interaction is marked by speed, efficiency, and a personalized approach, reinforcing BankDhofar's position as a leading provider of exceptional financial services in Oman. By fostering loyalty and a sense of belonging, BankDhofar continues to build lasting relationships that go beyond financial transactions, supporting the growth and prosperity of the communities it serves.
As a technology-driven institution, BankDhofar continues to lead in leveraging advanced technology to enhance customer experience, safety, and convenience. A prime example of this is the recent launch of "Dhofar Pay' and ' Samsung pay' , 'Apple Pay 'an innovative services that allows customers to make payments by simply swiping their smartphones at POS terminals, further simplifying the banking experience.

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Before most of the city is awake, Deira is already moving — loud, fast, and still dealing mostly in cash. At the fish market just off Palm Deira Metro Station, the floor is slick with ice water and fish scales. Crates rattle open to reveal hammour and kingfish, striped yellow-like brush strokes. Prawns are stacked like glass, still twitching. The air smells like diesel and salt. Vendors shout in Malayalam, Arabic, and Hindi. Restaurant buyers haggle in half-sentences. A five-dirham note flutters from a pocket. No one's tapping. No one's scanning. And yet, just 20 minutes away, the future is already here. Inside a DIFC café lined with concrete and chrome, a woman in a tailored blazer taps her Apple Watch to pay for a flat white. A sign by the register reads: Contactless only. This is the UAE in 2025: one of the most digitally connected economies in the world, and yet still tethered, in many ways, to the physical currency it's preparing to leave behind. 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'The move to a cashless economy is a global trend,' Srouji said. In the UAE, it's been accelerated by deliberate policy shifts — especially when the Central Bank opened the market to non-bank payment service providers, breaking open what had long been a bank-dominated space. 'This was a catalyst for diversifying the sector with mobile payments, peer-to-peer transfers, but also the lucrative online payment space.' But Srouji cautions that we shouldn't rush to call this a 'cashless' society. 'It is probably a misnomer to speak of a 'cashless economy',' he said. 'An advanced digital payments ecosystem is probably the better term, but unfortunately the marketers won that battle.' While digital payments have surged, cash hasn't exactly disappeared. He argues that cash levels have been consistently on the rise in the UAE, even as cash transactions have declined in favour of digital payments. Why? 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He referenced a 2020 study by Cohen, Rubinchik & Shami, which 'showed that such initiatives may backfire, pushing actors in the shadow economy — particularly well-organised criminal networks — to go to more extreme lengths to launder money into the formal economy, with potentially more dangerous outcomes.' Instead of phasing out cash to crack down on crime, Srouji suggests it's more effective to focus on strengthening the UAE's existing anti-money laundering and financial crime regulations. The country has already made progress in that area, he said, and allowing cash and digital payments to exist side by side — with strong oversight — is likely a more balanced and secure approach. When it comes to financial inclusion, Srouji's stance is clear. 'If not enshrined in a comprehensive financial inclusion strategy, it can be argued that going cashless is a catalyst for financial exclusion,' he wrote. 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