ila News

Manama, Bahrain: ila Bank, the region’s fast growing digital mobile-only bank powered by Bank ABC, launches a Co-Brand Prepaid Card in partnership with Eastern Bakery, a subsidiary of the Hasan & Habib Sons of Mahmood Co. This comes on the back of ila’s ongoing drive to facilitate a cashless digital economy while building sound financial habits within the local community.

Boasting both the ila and Eastern bakery logos, the card can be obtained through a seamless application process via the ila Bank app and can be used for online or in store purchases across the country and abroad. In addition, it offers tailored discounts and cashback benefits when used at school cafeterias operated by Eastern Bakery and can be availed by students as well as faculty members.

Commenting on the collaboration, Nada Tarada, Head of Business & Customer at ila Bank said: “In line with ila Bank’s commitment to meet the needs and aspirations of all segments of society, we developed this joint proposition with Eastern Bakery to help students build financial capabilities at a young age. There is a clear positive shift in the financial literacy of children today and a high demand for financial independence. With this tailored offering, we are supporting parents in instilling good financial habits in their children at an early age. Parents will be able to easily fund their children’s card and manage their spending habits directly through the ila app.”

“Also worth noting, the Prepaid Card is enabled to work domestically, internationally and on ecommerce platforms, fully under the supervision of parents. We thank Eastern Bakery for collaborating with us and packaging attractive offers for students. We will continue to partner with key players across sectors to address our customers’ varying financial needs and aspirations.,” added Ms. Tarada.

Hassan Zuhair Mahmood, Head of Marketing & Communications at Hasan & Habib Sons of Mahmood Co. said: “We are very excited to take part in this first of its kind collaboration in Bahrain. Working with ila Bank over the past nine months has been a great pleasure. We look forward to seeing how our customized offering will drive sound money management habits among the youth. We thank the Marketing and Research & Development teams at Eastern Bakery for making this happen. We thank all our partner schools for giving us the opportunity to serve the youth of Bahrain and support the overall government vision in enabling a cashless digital economy.”

The joint offering features:

2% cashback on all purchases for the first three months and 1% cashback each month thereafter at Eastern Bakery outlets

Full control of transactions via the ila Bank app, enabling parents to manage their children’s spending behavior.

Access to a wide range of exclusive ila and Mastercard discounts and benefits.

Yearlong promotions and offers at Eastern Bakery outlets.

The Eastern Bakery is the official cafeteria operator of the Ibn Khuldoon National School, St. Christophers School, Modern Knowledge School, American School of Bahrain, Sheikha Hessa Girl’s School, Multinational School, Arabian Pearl Gulf School, Beacon Private School, and Al Iman School.