In line with its commitment to encourage the habit of saving in Oman and create more value for customers, Sohar International recently announced the launch of Sohar | Prize Scheme for the year 2020 under the theme ‘Save More, Win More’. Launched at a press conference held on Tuesday 28th January 2020 at ‘W’ Hotel Muscat, the new scheme has been designed with an underlying philosophy of ‘Save More, Win More’ and has been curated with the fundamental purpose of helping customers ‘win’ by instilling a prudent saving culture and rewarding them for that.

The 2020 Prize scheme has been revamped and redesigned to include more draws, more winners, open to a wider audience, and consists of branch guaranteed draws. In addition to the Weekly, monthly, half yearly, and year-end draws, the scheme provides customers with new prize categories of Monthly Branch Draws; Monthly Youth Draws, and Monthly Salary Draws for General and Sohar First Customer base. With increased categories, number of prizes, and frequency of draws, all customer base within the bank have increased probability of winning and being rewarded for their prudent savings.

The Press Conference to introduce the new scheme started with an opening note from the bank followed by a moment of silence in respect of the Late His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said – may Allah rest his soul in eternal peace. Mr Khalil Salim Al Hedaifi, Chief Retail Banking Officer at Sohar International then gave a short speech on the bank and the retail division in particular leading up to the draws to conclude the Prize Scheme for year 2019. Post the draws, the announcement of the four lucky winners were made followed by the introduction of the new 2020 Prize Scheme. The event concluded with a Q&A session with the press representatives.

Highlighting the importance of instilling a habit of savings within the community and nation at large, Mr. Khalil Al Hedaifi, Chief Retail Banking Officer said, “With our periodically running Prize Schemes, we cannot stress enough on the importance of keeping healthy saving habits. Sohar International has been at the forefront in advocating the benefits of prudent saving habits which can help people realise their dreams and aspirations.”

He added “With the launching of Sohar I Prize Scheme 2020, we intend to further encourage our customers on their savings journey by providing them with more rewarding opportunities to transform their lives and help them ‘win’. The new scheme has now been incorporated with even higher prize value and more categories thus providing our customers increased chances of winning by following the philosophy of ‘Save More, Win More’.”

The year 2020 Scheme has been split under 8 major categories and rewards all customer base. Under the weekly draws, a total of OMR 5,500 will be given away each week to five customers from the general segment winning OMR 1,000 each, while another five Minor customers will be winning OMR 100 each. Eligibility to these weekly draws requires a minimum monthly average balance of OMR 100.

Furthermore, the Monthly Draws totalling OMR 100,000 will be distributed among two segments of customers, the General segment and Wealth Management segment, with two customers from each segment receiving OMR 25,000 each. To be eligible for the monthly draws, the customer from the general segment will need to maintain a minimum monthly average balance of OMR 100, while Wealth Management customers will need to maintain an average monthly balance of OMR 40,000 by end of each month.

As a new prize type, the scheme will offer Monthly Branches Draws offering one customer from each of the bank’s branches saving a minimum average balance of OMR 100 to win OMR 1,000 each. To encourage the youth to save for their future, the bank has also provided dedicated Monthly Youth Draws that will reward customers maintaining the OMR 100 minimum monthly average requirement with prizes of OMR 200 for 10 winners each.

With the purpose of encouraging a monthly savings habit to secure a better future, Sohar | Prize Scheme consist of dedicated Monthly Salary Draws for the mass as well as for the Sohar | First customer base; offering 5 customers from each of the two categories with chances to win OMR 500 each. The requirement to enter these draws will be a minimum average balance of OMR 100.

Under the Half-Yearly Draws, the Bank will be giving away OMR 200,000 to two customers in the General segment and two customers from the Wealth Management segment; each getting the chance to win OMR 50,000. To be eligible for the half-yearly draws, customers from the General segment category will need to maintain an average of OMR 100. As for the wealth management segment, customers will need to maintain an average of OMR 40,000.

Prize money totalling to OMR 400,000 - the largest prize cash prize of the year will be reserved for the Year-End grand draws that will be distributed equally between four customers; two from the general segment and two from the wealth management category. To be eligible, customers from the general segment will need to maintain a minimum monthly average balance of OMR 100, while Wealth Management customers will need to maintain an average monthly balance of OMR 40,000.

In honour of special occasions and occasions of national significance, Sohar | Prize Scheme 2020 will also host the ‘Special Draws’ such as the Omani Woman’s Day, celebrated annually on October 17th, offering 10 female customers a chance to win OMR 10,000 in total, while the other occasion draws will give away OMR 50,000 to its winners.

All prize accounts will have four chances for every minimum average balance maintained in their accounts for any of the above draws, while Minor accounts will enjoy double of these chances as an effort from Sohar International to encourage adoption a saving culture and financial prudence from a young age. The Sohar I Prize Scheme 2020 is not exclusive for accounts in Omani Riyal only; saving accounts that are maintained in AED, GBP and USD are also eligible to participate in the Sohar | Prize Scheme 2020. For those seeking to save without participating in the prize draws, can instead choose the interest-bearing accounts.

Sohar I Prize Scheme 2020 comes in line with Sohar International’s forever celebrated spirit of winning, encouraging customers to adopt a prudent saving lifestyle ensuring financial security and stability for individuals and families alike. Based on Sohar International new purpose, the brand commits itself in ‘helping people win’ by providing them with responsive banking services that meet their evolving lifestyles in today’s dynamic market. In addition, the bank also promises in delivering services in a simpler and faster manner, creating more velocity, more value and more vision for their customers alike.