Driven by its digital transformation strategy, Sohar International was recently adjudged as a frontrunner under the Innovative Custom Components category at the fifth edition of the Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Awards. The award was organised in India by Infosys Limited; the corporation that provides business consulting, information technology and services to financial institutions across 19 countries. Sohar International was lauded in recognition of its determination to deliver breakthrough innovation in banking products, customer service, process design and distribution channels capitalizing on Finacle solutions.

The bank won the ‘Innovative Custom Components’ category on account of its innovative approach and implementation of the ‘Online Monitoring of Country Limit’ along with its enhanced ‘Turnaround Time Customer Service Enhancement’ initiatives including account opening within 5 minutes; personal loan approvals in 24 hours, housing loan complete processing within 72 hours along with offering letters of credit within 30 minutes; each designed to suit dynamic customer and market needs.

Commenting on the recognition of the bank’s spirit of innovation, Mr Ahmed Al Musalmi, Chief Executive Officer, Sohar International said, "With a deep understanding of global dynamics and trends, our bank has embarked on a new journey to transform banking beyond the mere provision of financial services to become a leading Omani service company that helps customers grow and prosper. With many milestones already achieved in a short span of time as part of our new five-year strategy, we are truly delighted to be recognized by Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Awards 2019. This achievement is a reflection of our new brand personality of being Sharp, Human and Unstoppable, and our spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship to bring the best of the world to our customers, offering them more velocity, more value and more vision in an ever-changing world.”

The Infosys Finacle Client Innovation Awards Ceremony is one of the most prestigious award ceremonies in the Banking Technology Industry. The annual award celebrates banks that deliver breakthrough innovations that benefit banks by increasing revenue, profitability, and enhance customer satisfaction and efficiency. With over 250 nominations received across the categories, the highest number the awards have witnessed till date; participants are adjudicated across eight categories such as Product Innovation, Channel Innovation, Customer Service Innovation, Process Innovation, Innovative Custom Components, Accelerated Transformation, APIs led Innovation and Emerging Technologies-led Innovation. These nominations are evaluated by an expert jury panel on the basis of three criteria – Innovation Quotient, Benefits Quotient, and Complexity Quotient.

On receiving the award, Mr Mujahid Al Zadjali, DGM Information Technology, stated “Recognition under ‘Innovative Custom Components’ category – Mid-Size banks, reaffirms the organization’s commitment to have state of the art technology in place to deliver innovations across banking products, customer service, process design, and distribution channels. Technology will play an increasingly key role in our new strategy to ensure that we deliver on our promise of providing responsive banking services to our customers and help them win”.

Unequivocal at its endeavours to be at the forefront of innovative and convenient banking; Sohar International has continued to receive numerous accolades and global recognition over the years, for its commitment to the use of cutting-edge technology to provide simple and convenient banking solutions and services to its customers. Sohar International continually add to its technology repertoire with the addition of innovative services such as ‘eFloos’ – a fast, secure and seamless payment method launched recently in collaboration with Omantel. The eFloos App is a digital wallet that enables smartphone users to pay merchants as well as add, send, and receive funds, to and from other wallets. Amidst the market’s increasing demand for efficient digital solutions, the bank has also integrated a unique and innovative transfer facility in its one-minute Mobile Banking App. This enables customers to conduct fund transfers instantaneously at any time and from anywhere when using the recipient’s debit card number instead of the account number for local cardholders irrespective of who the recipient is banking with. Driven by its purpose to help customers achieve any goal, the bank will continue bring the best technological advancements in the world to its customers in Oman.