Bank Muscat celebrates 14th Partners in Progress awards
The PiP awards were presented to senior officials and executives of winning ministries, institutions and companies covering a total of 36 categories ranging from government services to automobiles, airlines, telecommunications, hotels and hypermarkets
MUSCAT: Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate, in step with its dynamic vision ‘To serve you better, everyday’ celebrated the 14th annual Partners in Progress (PiP) awards ceremony at Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre as merchant partners were honoured for outstanding contributions to card business in 2018.
Sheikh Waleed Al Hashar, Chief Executive Officer, presented the PiP awards to senior officials and executives of winning ministries, institutions and companies covering a total of 36 categories ranging from government services to automobiles, airlines, telecommunications, hotels and hypermarkets. Sulaiman Al Harthy, Group Chief Personal Banking Officer, and management team members attended the event.
The Special Awards for promoting electronic payments in the government sector were presented to the Royal Oman Police, Ministry of Manpower, Muscat Municipality, Ministry of Housing, and Ministry of Regional Municipalities & Water Resources.
The 2018 Partners in Progress (PiP) award winners in other categories are Lulu Hypermarket (Hypermarket), Ooredoo (Telecom Operator), Salam Air (Airlines), Omantel (e-Commerce), Emirates Medical Centre (Medical services), Al Ahlia Insurance Company (Insurance), Al Shaya International (Perfumes and cosmetics), Pan Emirates Furniture (Furniture), Extra (Electronics), Saud Bahwan Automotive (Automotive Sales and Services), Al Futtaim Auto Centre (Car rentals), Six Senses Hideaway and Spa (5 Star hotels), Crowne Plaza (4 Star hotels), Apparel International (Clothing & Fashion), Al Fair (Supermarkets), Pizza Hut (Casual dining), Kargeen (Restaurants), Royal Lady Salon and Spa (Beauty salon & spas), Malabar Gold Jewellery (Jewellery), Horizon Fitness (Health & Fitness), Bahwan Tourism (Travel and Tourism), Al Danube Building Materials (Building Material and Suppliers), OIFC (Bill Payment Services), Shell Oman Marketing (Fuel stations).
The Landmark Group won the Outstanding Merchant award and the Special Merchant Contribution award was bagged by Carrefour.
In recognition of promoting electronic payment across the Sultanate, the awards for Best Merchants in Regions were presented to Makkah Hypermarket, Oman International Container Terminal and Al Romaizan. The Best Exchange House in Oman award was won by Global Money Exchange and the Innovation in Services award was presented to ONEIC.
Sheikh Waleed Al Hashar, Chief Executive Officer, said: “Bank Muscat is proud to celebrate the 14-year journey together and joint success with merchant partners. We congratulate all our partners for their achievements in card business. Bank Muscat is proud to join hands with the government and merchant partners to create a robust payment industry in Oman. The bank’s ability and flexibility to adapt, innovate and provide customised payment solutions have made us unique in the market. We are committed to our dynamic customer-centric vision to enhance efficiency and productivity to further strengthen the payment industry in Oman.”
Amjad Al Lawati, AGM – Cards & eBanking, said: “Bank Muscat is proud to record positive growth in partnership with merchants as the network grew to over 12,000 with 20,000 PoS terminals and over 150 e-commerce merchants processing more than 55 million transactions annually. The bank’s merchant partners recorded close to 17% increase in card sales volumes and the merchant outlet network grew close to 10% in 2018. Bank Muscat continues to invest in upgrading its processing systems, network and fraud management capabilities to cater to the increase in electronic transactions and ensure uninterrupted service to merchant partners.”
Bank Muscat is proud to be a partner with the Government of Oman in introducing e-commerce solutions which have added great convenience to citizens and businesses all over the country. In 2018, the Royal Oman Police enabled their e-Visa solution making it easy for foreigners to visit Oman. The Ministry of Manpower enabled Sanad offices to offer services on their e-commerce platform. Muscat Municipality added services such as renewal of licences on their e-commerce platform. These services have added a lot of convenience for all users and the bank is a proud partner in these digital payment processes.
The bank successfully integrated its Point of Sales (PoS) terminals with electronic cash registers of many large organisations, simplifying reconciliation processes and eliminating errors while making sure that no sensitive information is handled by merchants.
The bank is partnering with many organisations in providing selfservice payment machines which are fully compliant with the latest EMV and PCI-DSS standards. For the first time, the Muscat International Airport parking meters can now process card transactions. The bank’s bulk cash deposit machines are helping businesses deposit cash in a safe and secure manner.
Enhancing convenience and security, the bank launched a feature-rich prepaid card in association with Visa. Designed for everyday use, the Omani Rial Visa prepaid card can be loaded with a cash amount preferred by customers, as many times as needed, up to a maximum of OMR2000.
Bank Muscat will soon be launching contactless payment solutions. The PoS terminals will be able to accept contactless payment instruments and cards will also facilitate contactless transactions.
Bank Muscat commenced card acquiring operations in 2002 and since then has crossed many milestones to become the largest acquirer and issuer of cards in Oman. Reflecting a maturing payment industry in Oman, more and more organisations are looking to Bank Muscat in developing customised solutions to support their business and service. The bank is currently working on multiple projects to provide these solutions.