BrazilCedar supports Islamic Bank in Oman with setup of digital bank
When a fast-growing Islamic Bank in Oman set out its ambition to launch a digital only venture, the bank’s management team turned to Cedar Management Consulting for advice.
With consumers around the world – and in Oman no different – increasingly using digital channels to deal with their banking needs, the Islamic Bank in the Sultanate set out to enhance its position in the digital banking landscape. Alongside bolstering the digital capabilities of its traditional portfolio, the leadership team launched the goal of establishing a new, digital only label.
Focused on the retail, wealth and small and mid-sized customer segment, the new venture aims to bring a full suite of banking services to tech-savvy customers, who will post-launch be able to enjoy a fast and secure banking experience 24/7 from the comfort of their homes and offices.
Meanwhile, building a standalone digital offering is in line with the bank’s goals to enhance financial inclusion among the 5.1 million Omani population, one of the pillars of the Oman Vision 2040.
Design and setup
Planned for launch in the next 12-18 months, a project team has over the past months created the fundament for bringing the plan to life, developing an overall new venture approach and roadmap.
Working together with consultants from Cedar Management Consulting, a digital roadmap was crafted for the coming 2-3 years, after which a number of key steps were taken. At the core of the roadmap were two key questions: what should be the scope of the digital bank and which functionalities should be included? And: what core digital banking platform technology should be used as the backbone for services?
Cedar Management Consulting’s consultants first built a database of use cases and capabilities covering all areas of businesses and segments (retail, wealth and small and mid-sized customers), with a total of 1,000+ use cases and capabilities identified. Engaging with the business, the database was then stripped down to key areas of focus, after which the blueprint scope for the new digital bank was developed.
Following this, the consultants led the core digital banking selection workstream, which kicked off with the identification of best-in-class digital only bank platforms (regionally and globally), leading to 5-7 platforms shortlisted for further engagement. Cedar Management Consulting then designed the RFP and guided the request for calls process.
Based on criteria including experience, capabilities, proof-of-concept outcome, technical assessment and costs (based on the ‘total cost of ownership’ principle), two suppliers that met all requirements were selected as finalists.
In its handover to the bank, Cedar’s consultants provided a high-level implementation roadmap for the remainder of the engagement process with suppliers, and overall project.
