Muscat, February 18, 2018: Barr Al Jissah, the exceptionally exclusive destination and first Integrated Tourism Complex (ITC) in Oman, and Oman Arab Bank (OAB), a leading Banking institutions in the country, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a long term partnership. This partnership will see Barr Al Jissah and OAB’s Elite Banking Program, one of the most established programs of its kind in the country, join forces to offer exclusive luxury services and experiences to customers with very privileged benefits.

The signing of the agreement took place on February 5. Representing Barr Al Jissah at the event was Hussain Al Khabouri, the Chief Operating Officer, while OAB was represented by Rashad Al Shaikh, the DGM of Retail Banking. The Executive management and senior members of staff from both companies were also in attendance.

Commenting on the new partnership, Hussain said, “OAB’s Elite banking service for high net worth individuals, complete with its host of exclusive benefits and dedicated customer service sections in all flagship branches, is amongst the best available in the market. It is a perfect complement to the exceptional services and benefits we ourselves offer to visitors and home owners. We are honoured to have signed this MoU with them and I am confident their Elite banking service will be a great addition for all our new and existing home owners, whilst the preferential home financing will be a great option for those still looking to purchase a property here at Barr Al Jissah.”

Rashad added, “As the Sultanate’s first established ITC and one of the leading luxury destinations, Barr Al Jissah offers unique lifestyle experiences that cannot be found elsewhere in the country. The high-end luxury homes and lifestyle they offer are of the highest calibre and of a standard that perfectly complements our Elite Banking Service. We are honoured to have joined hands with them and look forward to a long a fruitful partnership ahead.

As part of the partnership, Barr Al Jissah lifestyle and OAB Elite Banking services will be offered with some exceptional benefits. These will include Home Loans at preferential rates from OAB for anyone looking to purchase property at the ITC. The Bank will also present all existing and new home owners at Barr Al Jissah with an Elite Banking account together with all the benefits that accompany it. This includes a dedicated relationship manager, free for life Elite Visa Infinite Credit and Platinum Debit card, preferential pricing on deposits and loans, special tariffs for bank charges (including safe lockers), unlimited complimentary lounge access at over 700 International Airports, complimentary chauffeur service for up to six trips a year to and from Muscat International Airport, and free travel insurance, purchase protection, and extended warranty with Visa Infinite. Furthermore, OAB Elite Visa Infinite customers can enjoy value added offers at renowned merchants across the Sultanate of Oman and GCC and will be presented with free 2,000 bonus points upon card activation. Card usage is also rewarded with spend points at the rate of one point for each one riyal transaction. These can be redeemed online across major airlines, hotels, or car rentals.

In addition, Barr Al Jissah real estate projects, namely its Al Mina Waterfront Residential Development and Bannenberg & Rowell Limited Edition Townhomes, will be exclusively showcased as the suggested real estate project within the OAB elite banking investment consultancy program. The Al Mina Waterfront Residential Development, which is currently under construction, is the latest addition to the ITC and is home to the cleanest and deepest marina in the country. The Bannenberg & Rowell Limited edition townhomes are a one-of-a-kind home with a unique interior inspired by modern yacht design.

As part of the MoU, Barr Al Jissah will provide all OAB Elite customers with a number of offers for the facilities, lifestyle experience, and services available at the ITC. These include 25% discount and priority booking at BAJ events with door-to-door delivery of tickets, 30% discounts for family and children’s activities at the Al Mazaar Entertainment Centre, and 20% off rooms, dining and spa at both Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa and Shangri-La Al Husn Resort & Spa. Oman Arab Bank Elite Customers looking to purchase home at Barr Al Jissah will also be presented with preferential pricing.

Purchasing a home at Barr Al Jissah also comes with a host of exclusive and exceptional lifestyle benefits. These include direct access to the luxury amenities provided by Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa and Shangri-La Al Husn Resort & Spa via a membership program, as well as access to the private beaches and exclusive marina facilities of Barr Al Jissah through private berth booking and being a home owner. The latter include access to the members-only yacht club and its facilities. The Yacht Club, which is currently under construction, will include a new dive and sailing centre, private beach, two saltwater infinity pools and a unique beachfront zone. The club will also feature a one-of-a-kind upscale marina-side boardwalk with boutique retail outlets and al-fresco dining.

In addition to these benefits, Barr Al Jissah home owners also receive private concierge services by a dedicated in-house team. This service will be complemented by a soon-to-be-released secure and personalised mobile app offering home and yacht owners at Barr Al Jissah the most convenient lifestyle available in the country.

For further information and details, please visit www.barraljissah.com and www.oman-arabbank.com

Muscat, February 28, 2018: Following the launch of its new Hasaad Savings Scheme for 2018 last month, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) has conducted the very first draw event for the month of January. The draw saw 83 winners from across the Bank’s branch network receive OMR 1,000, together with one winner of OMR 20,000 as part of the Monthly Elite Draw.

“Following feedback we received from our customers, we have further streamlined the Hasaad Savings Scheme for 2018 to include all our clients from across our 58 branches in our draws on a monthly basis,” said Fahd Amjad, the General Manager of Retail Banking at OAB, while commenting on the new scheme. He added, “On behalf of OAB I would like to congratulate each of the 84 winners of the very first draw of the Hasaad Savings Scheme 2018. I would also like to encourage all our customers to increase their savings to maximise their chances of winning one of the hundreds of prizes available before the end of the year.”

Hasaad Savings Scheme in its current edition offers the Bank’s clients across all regions and branches a chance to win one of several valuable prizes on a monthly basis. These prizes come as part of the Bank’s monthly draws of OMR 1,000 per winner for the lucky winners across all branches. Regional Prize Draws, which will see one winner of OMR 20,000, conducted once every two months over the course of the year. The Hasaad Savings Scheme will also include 12 dedicated prize draws for Elite account holders with one winner of OMR 50,000 every quarter and one winner of OMR 20,000 for every other month in between.

OAB customers can easily open a ‘Hasaad’ account with a minimum balance of OMR 100, in order to be eligible for most of the prize draws.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

• The new system enhances internal workplace based on accurate KPI’s
• Periodical statistics on orders type and size, as well as speed of completion

Muscat, March 6, 2018: In line with its constant efforts to promote efficiency within the workplace in order to achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) announced the implementation of the ‘Mirsal’ system. The new system is designed to follow-up on internally-sent orders from all departments and track the time required for completing them. With Mirsal, OAB’s executive management will have at their disposal accurate figures about the number and kind of orders exchanged between departments and the time taken to complete them. With this information in hand, the Bank seeks to reduce the completion time of orders and take yet another step forward towards offering the very best customer service in the Sultanate.

Speaking on the launch of Mirsal, Rashad Al Musafir Acting CEO of Oman Arab Bank, stated, “Mirsal is yet another step forward in our digital transformation plan we launched for OAB in 2016.It is designed to enhance operations and increase productivity within all departments by creating a competitive environment with high-level criteria of quality and performance. The new system was introduced with the aim of further developing the digital infrastructure within the Bank, which in turn ensures we remain at the forefront of e-banking services both within the Sultanate and the region.”

Marwan Al Khouli, Head of Operations at OAB said, “With Mirsal, we have the necessary tools and information we require to streamline procedures and requirements right from the very moment the order is sent to the moment it is completed. Our new system clearly displays the current order status, completion percentage, and the department implementing it; in addition to speed of completion and total time taken. At OAB we consider our staff our internal customers and aim to offer them fast and high-quality tools to easily accomplish their objectives; and Mirsal is a system that perfectly complements this objective. Its implementation will also in turn have a positive effect on the overall customer service of the Bank.”

Mirsal is an initiative launched by the Banking Operations Department to be applied for all OAB departments and offices across the Sultanate in order to reduce manual work, time consumption, and data errors. The system will also unifies and streamlines work procedures across all OAB branches.

The system will provide decision-makers with accurate figures on all received orders, their number, time of completion, and the amount of work given to each employee. The supervisor, therefore, will be capable of distributing the work evenly as well as easily identify productive employees to reward them.

Mirsal also makes the executive management of the Bank aware of the work completed across all departments and the challenges that obstruct work process. Additionally, it will assist in finding solutions to overcome such obstacles which, in return, will increase productivity and quality.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Muscat, March 13, 2018: Oman Arab Bank (OAB), in line with its efforts to support community activities, recently sponsored the Azzan bin Qais International School (ABQIS) for their ‘International Day for Charity’ event.

Commenting on the Bank’s sponsorship of the event, Hilal Al Siyabi, Head of CSR at OAB said, “OAB has always been a very community oriented bank and supporting such events, especially those that are charity focused, has always been core aspect of our operations. It is through events like these that we can either directly or indirectly help organisations that continue to do important work in our communities, and touch the lives of those in need.”

The event was held at the school premises in Boushar and saw the attendance of a large of number of people. The charity event consisted of several activities including competitions, performances, and face painting. There was also a souq setup at the venue. Also participating in the event were a large number of social media celebrities.

As part of its sponsorship, OAB set up a stall at the event grounds where it showcased its various products as services; particularly its children’s accounts and the accompanying child education savings plan.

“Our child education savings plan was created with the aim of providing parents with an effective means to helps save for their children’s education and build a brighter future for them. It utilises a completely autonomous system for carrying out monthly debits from the parent’s account to the child’s account, thereby offering absolute simplicity and convenience,” added Hilal.

As part of this Savings Plan, parents with accounts at OAB can now open an account for their children, following which a predefined amount will automatically be transferred from the parent to the child’s account at monthly intervals. The monthly savings amount can range from as low as OMR 25 to a maximum of OMR 5,000 and can be amended by the parent at any time without any additional charge. Under the plan the account will benefit from a high interest rate of 1.75% per annum on the monthly deposit balance. As a further value added benefit, the plan offers bonus interest, calculated at 1.25% per annum, once every three years. This bonus is applied above the existing interest rate and is automatically awarded following regular monthly deposits for 36 consecutive months.

In addition to the high interest rate and bonus interest awarded every three years, the plan offer several other benefits. For starters, the account is entitled to take part in the Hassad Savings scheme with a chance to win cash prizes every month as part of the special draws for children. The plan also comes with free life insurance which covers up to OMR 50,000 in case of any unforeseen incident that may occur to the parent. This allows parents to rest assured of the continuity of monthly payments to the account.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.

Appointment of customer care managers at all OAB branches

Muscat, March 21, 2018 – Taking a further step in fulfilling the objectives of their transformation strategy, Oman Arab Bank (OAB) launched a new customer care initiative. The campaign aims to make the Bank one of the leading banks chosen by customers in the Sultanate. To facilitate this strategy, OAB will be appointing a customer care manager in each branch who will be responsible for ensuring that the customers have an enhanced banking experience.

Commenting on the launch of the new campaign, Ahlam Hamed Al Wardi, the Head of the Customer Quality Assurance Department at OAB said, “Over the course of the past four years, OAB has been successful in executing its transformational strategy that aims at positioning the Bank among the top preferred banks by the customers. Keeping in line with this approach, we are introducing a new customer-focused campaign for 2018. This campaign seeks to maintain the relationship between the Bank and its customers, and ensure that they are satisfied with the services provided to them. The campaign will also oversee the assignment of a customer care manager at all our branches. The managers will be in charge of following-up on customer services and on the feedback received, both positive and negative. They will be the medium for a two-way channel of communication between the Bank and its customers. They will be distinguished by a special uniform and nominal card, for easy identification.”

“Additionally, there will be a board near the main entrance of each branch showing contact information to allow customers to share their opinions and suggestions. Customers will be notified within 24 hours when their message has been received and corresponding action will be taken to find solutions to address any issues or queries. We believe that this will increase the quality of services we offer and improve customer satisfaction levels across all OAB branches,” Ahlam Al Wardi added.

The campaign was initiated earlier this year and involved various preparations, including the implementation of workshops for customer care managers and other practical activities, regionally.

Ahlam Al Wardi further noted, “We at OAB are dedicating all our efforts to achieve the goals of the Bank’s transformation strategy, including the “Customer Satisfaction is a Priority” ideal, and we are confident that we will be able to meet the requisite expectations. We are also working on developing plans and programmes, which are customer-oriented, to facilitate a unique banking experience for the Bank’s loyal customers.

Oman Arab Bank is one of the first banks to be established in Oman, with a rich and proud history. Today, the bank operates a nationwide network of 65 branches and representative offices across and 148 ATMs spread across the Sultanate. OAB provides the complete range of financial products and services for personal banking, corporate and investment clients.