BizBahrain Magazine (May-June 2019)

Banking & Finance
Bahrain’s first
Digital Payroll
system
Al Salam Bank-Bahrain
(ASBB) and Arab Financial
Services (AFS) officially
launched the first digital
payroll solution in Bahrain ‘Al
Rateb’, enabling employers to
pay wages digitally to those
of their employees who do not
have a bank account, in line
with the recent Shura Council
endorsement on the proposed
law that mandates companies
to pay workers through secure
wage protection solutions.
The service allows
employers to securely upload
wages and benefits onto payroll
cards through an online portal
which is configured with
their own payroll system.
Cardholders can withdraw
funds at any ATM and can also
use Point of Sale terminals
locally or abroad. Cardholders
can also access financial
services including statements,
interactive dashboards, 24/7
Ithmaar Bank
instant Debit
Cards issuance
Customers at Ithmaar Bank,
can now instantly collect
their debit cards from all 16
branches in the Bank’s retail
network.
The service further
reinforces Ithmaar Bank’s
position as an innovative
Islamic retail bank, is available
to all customers including new
customers when they open
customer care and multilingual
customer support.
Employers will save
significant time and money
as Al Rateb helps to improve
employers’ internal efficiencies
and operations via innovative
technology integrations that
further streamline payroll
calculation, administration
and disbursement processes,
making it easier, faster and
more accurate. Additionally,
cardholders can use their
cards in all ASBB ATMs for
free, and use their cards for
cash withdrawal through the
dedicated Al Rateb mobile ATM
van which regularly moves
between various locations
or through the Benefit ATM
network in the Kingdom.
Al Rateb cards also offer
a remittance solution at
competitive FOREX rates to
many destinations including
but not limited to India,
Pakistan, Philippines, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Egypt and Sri
Lanka.
Thousands of workers
already have their wages paid
through Al Rateb and corporate
enrolment in the solution is
steadily increasing. With the
new Decree every employer in
Bahrain must now pay their
workforce digitally and Al
Rateb solution is available to all
employers, regardless of their
workforce size.
a new account and request
a Debit Card as well to those
requesting card replacements.
Customers can
immediately collect their new
Debit Card, with their name
already printed, directly from
the branch upon opening
their accounts. They will then
instantly receive their Personal
Identification Number (PIN)
by SMS on their registered
mobile number. Customers
will be required to change this
PIN through any Ithmaar Bank
ATM in order to start using
BDB and
CrediMax POS
Assignment on
card receivables
Bahrain Development
Bank (BDB) in a process
to further support startup
and SMEs in Bahrain, has
launched ‘Point of Sale
(POS) Assignment on card
receivables’ in collaboration
with CrediMax.
The POS Assignment can
be used by retailers and service
providers, who accept debit
and credit cards as a mode of
payment, to enhance security
package that is required for
raising finance by simply
assigning their point of sale
proceeds to BDB. This would
provide credit moderation
and facilitate requirements
of financing to SMEs who are
unable to provide other forms
of security.
The sales collected from a
debit and credit card machine
will be deposited in the
company’s account with BDB
for the financing period.
Sanjeev Paul, CEO of BDB
mentioned that all the parties
involved in the transaction
Ahmed Abdul Rahim
CEO, Ithmaar Bank
their new card. They will also
be able to receive instant PIN
reissuance for their Debit Card
from the branch.
Ithmaar Bank Chief
Executive Officer, Ahmed Abdul
Rahim said, “We recognised, for
example, the inconvenience of
wins, with the launch of this
POS assignment. “We are
proud of our collaboration
with CrediMax, which will
benefit the startup and SME
ecosystem of Bahrain. BDB
supports the startup and
SME industry, the customer
receives the required funding,
and CrediMax increases their
client base.”
Yousif Ali Mirza, Chief
Executive of CrediMax said,
“We are proud to play an
active role in allowing our
mutual clients to have the
best financial solutions for
their business and support
the kingdom’s continuous
drive towards development of
the SMEs and its important
role in the economy of
Bahrain. This collaboration
comes in line with CrediMax’s
strategy to develop innovative
financial tools for its clients
while providing superior
customer service.”
opening a new account then
having to wait a few days or
even, for that matter, a single
day for the debit card. We
addressed this by bringing the
process of physically issuing
Debit Cards directly into
branches.”
Ithmaar Bank allows round
the clock access to banking
services both on the Bank’s
network of 45 ATMs, the Benefit
network in the Kingdom of
Bahrain, the GCCNet network
in the Gulf Cooperative
Council (GCC) region and
internationally through
the Mastercard network. In
addition, to advanced, state of
the art eBanking services.
May-June 2019
47