ABANA showcases latest technology in consumer banking services
A ceremony, exhibition and forum were recently held by ABANA Enterprises Group Co. to mark the 40th anniversary of its establishment.
Governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), Ahmed bin Abdulkarim Alkholifey, SAMA Deputy Governor for Banking Operations, Hashem Alhekail, and Chief Executive Officer of Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Khaled Biyari, in addition to other chief executives from the Kingdom’s banking and financial sector, attended the event.
During the ceremony, ABANA showcased the latest technology that it said would make a significant leap in the Kingdom’s consumer banking services.
Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Jebreen, CEO of ABANA, said: “SAMA is leading a number of programs and initiatives aligned with Kingdom’s Vision 2030 to activate the role of the private sector in improving the performance of the banking sector as well as in developing the services provided to citizens and residents.”
He said SAMA seeks the development of cash centers by allowing local companies to invest in and operate them, in addition to the development of the operational performance of ATMs in terms of technical and security aspects.
Jebreen said SAMA’s current initiative to issue a digital currency to be exclusively traded among banks as a pilot project, proves SAMA’s deep understanding of the financial and technical developments in the financial industry.
“ABANA has been keen to develop many products and services and carry out innovative projects as well as the development of applications and software for banking devices ... the company has achieved 44 percent of the localization of jobs and will reach 50 percent by the end of this year and 100 percent in cash centers,” he said.
The company’s digital transformation program will be finished in the first quarter of 2018, he added.
A forum reviewed Softbank’s vision and how it is aligned with Vision 2030, which aims at creating a new and knowledge-based economy to be less dependent on oil revenues.
Moreover, the latest developments in the technology of self-service machines for bank customers and technology trends for future service development were presented by the vice president of NCR Corporation, which announced its strategic partnership with ABANA.