In line with its drive towards creating more value for customers, Sohar International recently announced the launch of Sohar | Prize Scheme for year 2019 under the theme ‘Now That’s Winning’. The new scheme has been designed in-line with the customer-centric philosophy of helping customers ‘win’ by encouraging them to embrace good saving habits and rewarding them for that.

The 2019 scheme has introduced four new draws for the first time, including Youth and Salary Transfer monthly draws, along with special occasion draws namely the Omani Women’s Day and the 49th National Day. To ensure more winning for more customers throughout the year, the scheme will see bigger prizes for all customers and the wealth management segment in monthly, quarterly and year-end draws, along with weekly draws for minors as well as the general segment bank wide.

The Sohar I Prize Scheme 2019 was launched at a press conference held on Monday 21st January 2019 at the Sheraton Hotel in presence of Sohar International’s retail banking team led by Mr Khalil Salim Al Hedaifi, Chief Retail Banking Officer who briefed the esteemed media personnel on the new scheme. He was also joined by Mr Aziz Al Jahdhami, Assistant General Manager and Head of Wealth Management, and Mr Redha Al Lawati, Senior Chief Manager of Retail Liabilities and Sales to answer the media’s valuable questions about the scheme’s objectives and categories, and how it reflects on the Bank’s new purpose of promoting a winning spirit in the community.

During the press conference, Mr Khalil Al Hedaifi stressed on the importance of saving as a practice that people need to consider in order to pursue their dreams without risking their livelihood. He said “Many of our customers seek financial security for the future. As they accumulate savings over the days, their financial worries diminish which gives them peace of mind, expands their options to make decisions that have a major effect on the quality of their lives, and eventually enables them to achieve their ambitions and goals. By launching Sohar I Prize Scheme 2019, we intend to be a partner for our customers on that journey by providing them with new opportunities to transform their lives and help them win”.

The Sohar | Prize Scheme 2019 presents great benefits, as Sohar International increased the prizes value and expanded its categories, Al Hedaifi added “In addition to the weekly, monthly, quarterly draws and year-end draws, we are excited to introduce the Youth Draws, Salary Transfer Draws, and Special Occasion Draws with the aim to spread more happiness across Oman. Our loyal customers will be rewarded with better chances to win when keeping their investments for a longer period. It is very gratifying to be able to contribute in making our loyal customers’ dreams come true through these prize draws.”

Furthering its focus on youth as key players in Oman’s development agenda and core elements in building a brighter future for the Sultanate, the new Sohar | Prize Scheme 2019 introduced the Youth Monthly Draws (for customers aged between 18 and 25 years old) giving 10 young customers the chance to win from a total of OMR 2,000 on a monthly basis.

Additionally, and in order bring more value to employed customers who transfer their salaries (of a minimum of OMR 500) to their Sohar I Prize Scheme account by the end of each month; Sohar international will now reward them with Monthly Draws totalling OMR 5,000, distributed equally between 10 winners.

Honouring special occasions within the community, Sohar | Prize Scheme 2019 will further host Omani Woman’s Day and 49th Omani National Day draws. The draws of the Omani Woman’s Day, celebrated yearly on October 17th, will reward 10 female customers a total of OMR 10,000, while the 49th Omani National Day draws will give away OMR 49,000 to 49 customers.

Along with these new categories, Sohar International will also offer increased opportunities for winning on regular basis including Weekly Draws of OMR 4,500, monthly draws of OMR 100,000, Quarterly Draws totalling OMR 200,000, and finally the year end grand draws of OMR 400,000.

Under the weekly draws that will be giving away a total of OMR 4,500 every week, four customers from the general segment will win OMR 1,000 each, while another five Minor customers will be winning OMR 100 each. Eligibility to these weekly draws a minimum monthly average balance of OMR 100 which will be verified a day prior to the draws date.

Furthermore, the Monthly Draws totalling OMR 100,000 will give two customers from the general segment and two customers from the Wealth Management segment the chance to win OMR 25,000 each. To be eligible in the monthly draws, 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.

Under the Quarterly Draws, which will give away OMR 200,000 in total each quarter, two customers in the General segment and two customers from the Wealth Management segment will have the chance to win OMR 50,000 each. To be eligible for the quarterly draws in the General segment customers need to maintain an average of OMR 100 for the months of March and September 2019. As for the wealth management segment, customers will need to maintain an average of OMR 40,000 for the months of March and September 2019.

The biggest prize of the year will be in the 2019 Year-End grand draws, giving away a total of OMR 400,000 distributed between four customers; two from the general segment and two from the wealth management segment. To be eligible in the year-end grand draws, 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.

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 these chances as an effort from Sohar International to encourage the little ones to adopt a culture of saving and financial prudence. The Sohar I Prize Scheme 2019 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 2019. For those seeking to save without participating in the prize draws, they can instead choose interest bearing accounts.

Sohar I Prize Scheme 2019 comes in line with Sohar International recently launched new brand which celebrates the spirit of winning as it encourages customers to adopt saving as a lifestyle to ensure financial security and stability for them and their families. Sohar International new brand carries a promise to help people win by providing them with responsive banking services that meet their evolving lifestyles in today’s ever-changing world, in addition to delivering these services in a simpler and faster way, with more value added to help them achieve their current and future ambitions.