Ahmed Abdul Rahim, who is the Chief
Executive Officer of Ithmaar Bank, a Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, as well
as the Deputy Chairman of the Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB), made the
comment after renewing Ithmaar Bank’s strategic partnership with Bahrain
FinTech Bay (BFB), one of the region’s most advanced Financial Technology
(FinTech) ecosystems.
Ithmaar Bank, which was recently named
“Best Bank for Personal Finance in Bahrain” by the World Union of Arab Bankers
(WUAB), was a Founding Partner of BFB and has supported and worked closely with
them since their establishment two years ago. The renewed agreement extends the
partnership for another two years.
Working with local authorities, including
the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB), the Bahrain Economic Development Board (EDB)
and the Labour Fund “Tamkeen”, for example, Ithmaar Bank and Eazy Financial
Services, a Bahrain FinTech company focusing on providing biometric
technologies, formally announced in May the region’s first biometric-enabled
ATM network. His Royal Highness Prince
Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, had in March 2019
inaugurated the Eazy biometric payment network by making Ithmaar Bank the first
biometric bank in the region.
This, and other similar innovations, have
helped earn Bahrain international praise and recognition with the CBB being
named “Most Innovative Fintech Regulator Of The Year” by Fintech Galaxy, a
digital crowd funding platform, during FinX 2019, a Fintech event held on 2
October 2019 in Dubai, UAE. The Award recognizes the regulation entity that is
actively investing and improving their FinTech start-up seamless experience,
and was conferred on the CBB for its initiatives in introducing and developing
both the regulatory framework and ecosystem needed to support the ambition of
FinTech start-ups and existing financial institutions.
“As a pioneering Islamic retail bank,
Ithmaar Bank recognizes the important role we must play in reinforcing the
Kingdom of Bahrain’s leading role as a key banking and financial services hub
in the region,” said Abdulrahim. “Our continuous support as a Founding Partner
for the BFB, and the close work we do with them as well as with local
authorities underscores how seriously we take this commitment,” he said.
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