Sunday 17 / November / 2024
Muscat: Growth of Islamic banking in Oman is an incredible phenomenon says an official of the alizz islamic bank.
“Islamic banking has been introduced in the Sultanate some years ago and the achievement in the short period is unbelievable,” Mohamoud Barre Dulaeh, head of product development in the alizz islamic bank told Times of Oman on the sideline of the launch their latest financial product called ‘Bushra’, a Sharia-compliant prize savings account.
“When we look into the other countries it took some period but in Oman it’s going faster than we expected,” he added.
According to him, Islamic banking is different from conventional banks.
“Islamic finance is not like the conventional banks and it needs some time to establish into a full fledge way because when we launched it in Oman it has no track record so the people should understand how it works,” Dulaeh explained.
He also said that the alizz islamic bank has taken lot of initiatives to make the people in the Sultanate aware of Islamic Banking.
“We introduced several products to attract the public, we use the social and print media and we also have some CSR activities to make people aware of Islamic banking.
alizz islamic bank will be offering several cash prize through the new ‘Bushra’ account, from weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual draws.
Bushra account is approved by the Sharia Supervisory Board.
According to the Moosa Al Jadidi, Deputy General Manager and Head of Retail Banking, prize on the draws will be given to the winners from the bank’s funds, not from the account holders’ funds.
This launch comes within the pursuit of Alizz Islamic Bank to provide its clients with superior and innovative financial solutions through a diverse range of Sharia-compliant savings options.
‘Bushra’ prize savings account is based on the Islamic principle of ‘Mudaraba’, where a Mudaraba contract is signed between the client and the bank.
“In the contract, the client acts as a capital provider, while alizz islamic bank acts as the ‘Mudarib’,” Al Jadidi, said.
“Bank pools all clients’ funds together with its own capital at Sharia-compliant investments and the earned profit is shared between the bank and its clients according to predetermined and mutually agreed-upon ratios,” he added.
According to him, alizz islamic bank offers an array of benefits for the ‘Bushra’ account holders, such as a minimum average deposit amount of as low as OMR100, as well as a free debit card to facilitate their daily transactions.
Holders of this account will also receive free services such as online banking, phone banking, and SMS alerts for every transaction.
Besides a quarterly profit payment, maintaining a minimum weekly average balance of OMR100 or more will give the account holder an opportunity to enter a weekly draw organized by the bank, with a weekly reward of up to OMR3,000 for three winners, or OMR1,000 per winner.
“An account holder’s chances of entering the draw will depend on their average account’s balance during the draw period,” Al Jadidi explained.
“This account gives clients the ability to increase their wealth. We aim to provide our clients with low-risk high-yield investment and savings solutions, and we ensure that meeting all their needs, with utmost transparency, is made priority,” he continued.
