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BankMuscat Opens Electronic Branch at Knowledge
Oasis Muscat
Muscat,
23 June 2007: BankMuscat SAOG, the nation’s
leading bank has long recognized that technology
is reshaping the financial services industry in
profound ways. The opening of its newest
electronic branch at Knowledge Oasis Muscat (KOM)
represents their comprehensive efforts towards
its expansion strategy in financial services and
its diverse portfolio offering to the people
nation wide.
The branch opening was held under the auspices
of HE Ali Masoud Al-Sunaidy, Minister of Sports
Affairs at the Knowledge Oasis Muscat. Speaking
at the opening ceremony Al Sunaidy commented,
“The Sultanate of Oman is actively involved in
building and supporting e-initiatives by
encouraging institutions and individuals to
participate. Banks are already working on
various platforms with both government and
private sector so as to be able to play the role
of financial service providers. It is very
commendable that BankMuscat has taken this
initiative to expand their presence at KOM in
the electronic-banking domain”.
This unique electronic branch at KOM will serve
a growing number of BankMuscat clients, who have
homes not just in Rusayl but all over Oman, as
this branch will be the first of its kind in the
electronic banking segment. It is equipped with
a 24/7 electronic banking zone allowing
customers to carry out a full range of banking
transactions with greater convenience.
Speaking at the opening AbdulRazak Ali Issa,
Chief Executive, BankMuscat said, “We are
opening the way to a new level of modern banking
in an increasingly competitive marketing
environment. Our focus is on meeting and
exceeding our customer needs, ensuring that we
deliver convenience and peace of mind in this
fast evolving sector. The electronic branch at
KOM strives to meet our client’s demands in a
way that well achieve their business as well as
personal goals”.
This branch will offer all the services normally
one would expect from a conventional
brick-and-mortar branch with a crucial
difference being that most of the transactional
services would be made available through the
full range of electronic banking channels such
as ATM, cash deposit machine, call centre and an
internet banking terminal which will be
accessible 24 x 7.
Key staff at the bank has also been deployed to
complement the electronic banking channels and
they will take care of all the day-to-day
activities at the bank. They will assist
customers in account opening, loan inquiries and
loan processing, assessment and monitoring of
overdraft requests, accepting & processing of
requests for different products/services
applications, delivery of PIN Mailers and Cards.
They will also guide and educate customers on
usage of the electronic banking channels.
The operational module shall therefore be
two-tier wherein the staff will provide customer
service through relationship management, while
electronic banking channels will provide
customer service through transaction support.
BankMuscat has also striven over the years to
understand and anticipate the needs of its
customers. The al Mazyona savings scheme, which
is amongst the oldest and most popular in the
country, ceaselessly endeavors to reward its
savings account holders. At the KOM branch
opening HE Ali Masoud Al-Sunaidy, Minister of
Sports Affairs drew the name of the lucky winner
of the Al Mazyona Grand Prize Draw for R.O.
100,000/- and announced Ahmed Abdullah Mohammed
Bait Ali as the winner. In addition, he drew the
name of Mohammed Hilal Hamed Al-Saadi as the
monthly prize winner worth RO 20,000/-for the
month of May’07.
The al Mazyona draw is the first prize draw in
Oman to be independently audited by global
consulting firm, Ernst & Young. It promises
account holders a number of unique benefits:
account holders who maintain a minimum weekly
balance of RO 100 get a chance to win one of the
weekly prizes of RO 1000; account holders who
maintain a monthly minimum balance of RO 3000,
get a chance to win RO 20,000 every month; and
all account holders who have maintained minimum
monthly balance of RO 3000 for the past 6 months
get a chance to win a grand prize of RO 100,000
every alternate month as a recognition for their
loyalty to the Bank. Additionally all account
holders who maintain a monthly minimum balance
of RO 3000 get a free personal accident
insurance cover up to RO 10,000 as a measure of
protection by the Bank.
With assets worth over USD 8.5 billion,
BankMuscat (SAOG) is the largest Bank in Oman
today with a strong presence in Corporate
Banking, Consumer Banking, Investment Banking,
Treasury, Private Banking, Project Finance and
Asset Management. The Bank has a network of 101
branches, 231 ATMs and 38 CDMs in Oman and a
representative office in Dubai (UAE). BankMuscat
also has a strategic stake in Centurion Bank of
Punjab, one of the largest private sector bank
in India, and has a 49% stake in BankMuscat
International (BMI), an independent banking
entity in Bahrain that is focused on becoming a
truly GCC regional bank. The Bank has also
recently opened its operations in Riyadh in the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. |
