Amsterdam based Mobiquity served as a key tech partner for this milestone initiative.
Amsterdam, NL – December 3, 2019: Bank ABC, Middle East North Africa’s (MENA’s) leading international bank headquartered in Bahrain, launched “ila Bank” its digital, mobile-only bank in Bahrain on 24th November 2019. Mobiquity, a digital consultancy firm that designs and delivers compelling digital products and services for the world's leading brands, played a key technology development role in this strategic initiative, helping Bank ABC from idea inception through to implementation and launch.
Combining technology with a human-centric design, ila provides seamless banking services via a mobile application without the need for brick-and-mortar branches. This bold move marks a major digital advance for the MENA region, whose newest generation of consumers is changing the Middle Eastern banking culture.
ila endeavors to redefine the banking experience first in Bahrain, and in its next phase, for the 100+ million millennials and tech-savvy consumers across the MENA region. As more young people enter the Middle Eastern market, where notably over 50% of business owners are under the age of 35, Bank ABC saw the need to give these consumers an easier way to manage their finances and achieve their aspirations. This led Bank ABC to partner with leading technology players, including Mobiquity Europe’s Amsterdam team of strategists, creatives and engineers, to help build ila.
At its core, ila seeks to unlock new financial possibilities for Bahrain’s next generation with a roadmap to expand across the MENA region. Conducting in depth research to understand the local culture, clients, and prospects, ila’s team of talented young Bahrainis and industry experts, together with Mobiquity, sought information on what Bahraini people want to achieve in their daily lives; what struggles and goals they have; what keeps them from achieving their goals, and how they might accelerate their progress towards their personal ambitions.
Based on the team’s findings, ila was conceived and built to serve as an intuitive, agile and connected banking tool that solves its customers’ financial pain points, enhances their lifestyles and evolves around their rapidly changing needs. It’s even in the name: Arabic for the word ‘to,’ ila is indicative of the bank’s objective to propel its customers from where they are ‘to’ where they aspire to be.
Mobiquity provided Bank ABC with the back-end development capabilities to create and implement seamless user experience to aid features such as digital onboarding with two national ID’s and a selfie, flexible funding options, multiple currency accounts and in app card controls.
“With the release of ila, Bank ABC now sets a new standard for digital banking in the Middle East. Mobiquity is proud to have partnered with Bank ABC throughout this journey and we are thrilled to stand alongside them as they unveil ila to the world,” said John Castleman, CEO of Mobiquity.
Paul Piebinga, President, Mobiquity Europe added: “Bank ABC has been relentlessly focused on creating a meaningful digital banking experience for its customers in Bahrain. ila not only delivers a new digital banking standard for the Middle East, it sets the tone for our entire planet on the future of personalized banking.”
Bank ABC Deputy Group CEO Mr. Sael Al Waary, who spearheads this strategic initiative, said: “We merged cutting edge technology and human understanding to create a bank that is aligned with modern life… As conveyed in our brand promise ‘Banking that reflects you,’ ila is designed to listen to our customers, study their lifestyles and priorities, and offer them banking support that is completely attuned with their financial needs.”
“This is just the beginning of our journey to transform banking in the MENA region. We’re already working on the next version of ila, and hope our collaboration with Mobiquity, will continue to yield innovative lifestyle banking solutions that tailor to the changing needs of our existing and future customers,” added Mr. Al Waary.
The ila Bank app is now available for download on Google Play and the Apple App stores. Prospective customers will be able to join ila’s waitlist and be the first to gain early access and experience the newest bank in Bahrain.
About Bank ABC
Bank ABC is a leading player in the MENA region’s banking industry, with an international presence in 15 countries, and provides global innovative Wholesale Banking coverage and products that include Corporate and Financial Institutions coverage, Transaction Banking (Trade Finance and Cash Management), Project and Structured finance, Syndications, Treasury and Financial Markets products and Islamic Banking. It also provides retail banking services through its network of retail banks in Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Brazil. To learn more, visit: www.bank-abc.com.
Media Contacts:
Leah Patterson
lpatterson@mobiquityinc.com
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Mobiquity
Fatema Yusuf
media@bank-abc.com
Group Head of Corporate Communications
Bank ABC, Bahrain
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