For several years now, Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has been steadily scaling up its digital banking services, ensuring that its customers adopt the new digital banking methods and significantly reduce reliance on traditional banking services. This extraordinary foresight to strengthen its digital capabilities has served QIB well not only in normal times but more importantly, in times of crisis. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, QIB has managed to significantly reduce customers’ reliance on face-to-face services made through physically visiting its branches. With an Accelerated Digitization of Banking Services, the Bank has contributed to ensuring the safety of its customers and has allowed them to bank safely from home, while having all their banking needs fulfilled remotely.
Just recently, in recognition of its outstanding digital innovation, Qatar Islamic Bank was awarded Winner, Best Digital Bank of the Year – Qatar, Best Retail Bank of the Year – Qatar and Outstanding Client On-boarding & Account Opening – Middle East at the recent Global Retail Banking Innovation Awards 2020 (GRB Awards) by The Digital Banker.
Globally acclaimed as the most authoritative and transparently judged Retail Banking awards program, the GRB Awards recognises trailblazing banks that are leading with digital innovation, product development, service delivery, customer centricity and customer experience. Making it through is a feat in and of itself, with adjudication panel that includes industry experts from companies such as such as KPMG Digital Village, Imaginarium Advisors, EY and Forrester.
“QIB embarked on a bank-wide transformation program with the primary objective of improving and simplifying the customer experience, modernize the bank’s offerings and introduce an agile methodology to continuously deliver innovative features to attract new customers. Robust profitability and a stable financial performance were underpinned by large scale transformation, which significantly increased digital sales and reduced the cost to the bank,” said Nirav Patel, Managing Director at The Digital Banker during the awards virtual gala. For its part, QIB Group CEO Bassel Gamal said: “We are pleased to be recognized for our innovation and outstanding performance in servicing all our customers. QIB has developed its own repertoire and know-how in offering the best products and services to existing and potential customers, and we are proud that our customer-centric approach is now a reference not only in Qatar but in the region as well.
“QIB will continue implementing its long-term strategy where the customer comes first, and we are always dedicated to offering the best, fastest, and most trusted banking products in Qatar.”
“QIB was the first bank in the region to introduce Instant Finance (One Click Financing), the fastest and fully digital way to obtain personal financing in Qatar in 5 mins.”
5-Minute Digital Onboarding Process
Over the past 2 years, QIB has excelled in welcoming new segments of the community to its extended network of customers in Qatar. Its new digital onboarding process allows customers to open accounts in a fast, simple, and convenient way from anywhere in the world in only 5 minutes.
The new solution makes it easier for prospective customers to scan and submit identification documents, such as passports and ID cards, without any need to type the required personal information. This is made possible by OCR technology that allows the platform to read the necessary information from scanned documents. All the customer has to do is to confirm the information displayed on the app.
Along with an added Live Chat feature, the new solution also offers customers a smart authentication process and an integrated identification system to analyse biometric information and help eliminate fraud as it is linked to Qatar Central Bank and Qatar’s Ministry of Interior databases. In addition, the documents are checked against global compliance databases for blacklisted customers. Using this technology, QIB is now able to validate the documents provided by the customers and cross verify them with their selfie image taken through the journey.
“The new solution makes it easier for prospective customers to scan and submit identification documents, such as passports and ID cards, without any need to type the required personal information.”
Digital Innovations to Bank Safely
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, QIB introduced a number of new features as part of its Bank Safely from Home campaign. As a result, it has seen accelerated digitization of banking services since March 2020, which enabled both retail and corporate customers to use the Mobile and Internet Banking channels to remotely complete their daily banking needs.
QIB has introduced major digital services on its Mobile App, updated its Internet Banking Portal, and launched a new Corporate Mobile App for its corporate customers. Consequently, the Bank has not only seen unprecedented demand of its digital services, but it has also helped anchor the culture of adopting digital banking services across customer channels, a practice that has carried on even after the recent lifting of the government restrictions.
QIB was also the first bank in Qatar to introduce a digital Instant Credit Card solution via its Mobile App late in 2019, giving customers the opportunity to get a full-digital approval on a credit card that will be ready for use within just a few hours. Moreover, QIB was the first bank in the region to introduce Instant Finance (One Click Financing), the fastest and fully digital way to obtain personal financing in Qatar in 5 mins.
For SME’s, QIB has accelerated the Digitization of SME Financing, and QIB’s SME/WBG Financing was introduced as a parametrized financing and automation of standard credit applications that significantly reduced the “time to yes” to 80% and “time to money” to 50% for SME’s. In addition to being one the first banks in Qatar to introduce corporate mobile app (QIB’s Corporate App), the Bank has also implemented a total revamping of its corporate internet banking platform to offer automated features for corporate customers on the levels of payments, transfers, bulk upload of salary files, liquidity management, and positive pay, post-dated cheques, in addition to FD and CD account opening and other services.
With initiatives such as Instant Finance (One Click Financing), a complete digital onboarding solution, digital Instant Credit Card and SME financing, the bank has utilized digital channels to reach its customers effectively.
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