Oman pioneers in digital banking, says BankDhofar head of retail banking

MUSCAT, APRIL 21

Oman began digitiation march much earlier than many in the region and is on the right track in terms of digitizing the economy at par with the Vision 2040 which envisions a digital society, according to Amjad al Lawati, Chief Retail Banking Officer at BankDhofar.

Speaking to the Observer in an exclusive interview, Al Lawati said Oman was the first one to introduce card payments at government sector well before many of the others in the region and the country is at par with the rest in the region and this is in line with the general direction of Oman Vision 2040 about digital economy,” adds Al Lawati who has more than 25 years of experience in banking.

“Oman began the journey of digitization of banking, specifically digitising payments before many countries in the region. Since then, we have been at par with the other regional banks. Oman’s digitizing march started with a couple of government entities where they stopped accepting cash, and hybrid transactions were happening” Amjad said adding that while the card to cash payments was hovering around 40:60 before the Covid-19 pandemic, the same became the other way round 60:40 post-pandemic.

With Dhofar-Pay, a cutting-edge service that redefines contactless payments for the Sultanate of Oman, customers can effortlessly tap and transact using their NFC-enabled Android phones, providing unparalleled convenience and security.

Dhofar-Pay allows users to securely add their existing Visa Debit and Credit Card details to their NFC-enabled Android phones. Once set up, the mobile phone becomes a digital card, enabling contactless payment transactions with a simple tap on POS terminals. This innovative solution eliminates the need to carry physical cards, offering a seamless payment experience for customers.

The new facility can be used by anyone who has a balance of RO 1 or 1 million and it simplifies the payment process while alleviating the payment hurdles. Even if one uses the card, he or she can also use the service by simply following a two-step procedure. The first step is to unlock the phone and the second step is to tap it on any of the POS where the purchase is made and the service is free and there’s no charges attached to it.

“We are the first one to launch this service in Oman, which the tech-savvy community has been waiting for quite a long time and it is now available. All you have to do is to download the bank app or update the same if you’re already using it, enroll your card, put the OTP and unlock, tap and enjoy.”

“We always work towards making banking easier and better for our customers and Dhofar-Pay is a perfect example of that. We are committed to use the latest technology to give the best banking experience possible for our customers. Our goal is to give easy and safe financial solutions that adapt to the evolving customer needs,” Amjad Iqbal al Lawati, Chief Retail Banking Officer at BankDhofar;