ila News

Manama, Bahrain: Reflecting its ongoing mission to listen to, understand and act on customer needs, ila Bank, Bahrain’s trailblazing digital, mobile-only bank, releases five new seamless app features to enhance its customers’ overall banking experience. The newly launched features were designed in response to customer feedback, received through the Bank’s various digital touchpoints, as well customer insights gained through ila’s agile banking model, powered by state-of-the-art AI and data analytics.

As part of its latest app enhancement, ila launched a further simplified digital onboarding process, which now empowers customers to open an account within minutes using only one ID and a selfie. This was made possible by leveraging the national eKYC platform, an extensive online database enabling financial institutions to easily authenticate clients’ identities, operated by BENEFIT in collaboration with the Information & eGovernment Authority (iGA), under the supervision of the Central Bank of Bahrain.

Commenting on ila’s banking app enhancements, Mohamed Al Maraj, Chief Executive Officer, ila Bank said: “ila’s app upgrade reflects our commitment to continuously customize our offering to transform the overall banking experience in Bahrain and build on the progressive and collaborative fintech ecosystem the Government has cultivated. ila now offers an unparalleled onboarding process, reflecting our commitment to create a banking experience that is accessible and inclusive of all in our fast paced, ‘contactless’ environment.”

ila’s new release also includes a ‘long-press’ feature enabling customers to access key features by touching and holding on the app icon right from the home screen; enables transfers between ‘Hassala’s’, an innovative digital saving pot, further easing the saving process and driving positive behavioral change; and permits two shares for each user in a ‘Jamiyah’, a collaborative digital savings tool inspired by a longstanding regional tradition.

Nada Tarada, Head of Business & Customer at ila Bank added: “ila’s latest app release is driven by customer needs and feedback. It reflects our ongoing mission to design banking around their lives and enable their day-to-day and long-term experiences through effortless, frictionless and seamless banking solutions.”

“Our client centric and socially driven banking concept merges cutting edge technologies with a deep human understanding, which enables us to remain attuned to our community’s needs and co-innovate alongside them. We strive to do so while continually challenging the layers, barriers and formalities of traditional banking,” concluded Tarada.

Since its inception, the Bank continued to disrupt the retail banking sector with many app enhancements, two widely adopted community inspired savings products “Hassala” and “Jamiyah”, an in-app donations feature, the first of its kind interest bearing checking account encouraging savings and the lowest income threshold to open an account, accelerating financial inclusion the Kingdom of Bahrain.