ila News

Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain 21 December 2021: With consumer preferences for digital payments rapidly increasing, Arab Financial Services (AFS), the leading digital payment solutions provider and fintech enabler in the Middle East and Africa, has collaborated once more with Bahrain’s first cloud-based digital, mobile-only bank, ila, powering the newly launched ila Blue and Switch credit cards.

A banking pioneer that embraces cutting-edge technologies, ila Bank’s keen understanding of its customer needs is complemented by AFS’s agility in delivering the solutions of choice that clients and end-users demand. The new ila Bank credit cards are designed as part of a seamless banking experience that is built around customer needs and sets the stage for end-to-end digital credit card applications. ila Bank’s Blue and Switch credit cards offer a world of exciting and premium benefits to cardholders including offers, cashbacks, lounge access and more.

Commenting on the collaboration Samer Soliman, AFS Chief Executive Officer, said: “AFS continues to work on innovation-led partnership models to offer distinctive products to its partners. In this effort, we are delighted to have collaborated with ila Bank to launch the ila Blue and Switch credit cards, two of the most rewarding Credit Cards in their own segment that offer a convenient, secure, frictionless payment experience. Our collaboration with ila Bank continues to expand AFS’s product footprint and raises the level of digital banking penetration in Bahrain, while further leading the way to a cashless economy.”

AFS has partnered with ila Bank since its establishment in Bahrain in 2019, supporting it with payments technology co-innovation. Today, AFS has successfully rolled out ila Bank’s ATM enabling, debit card processing and mobile application integration and services. Adding credit card processing to this list, marks a milestone in the collaboration between the two partners. As the preferred partner for banks, challenger banks, financial institutions, Fintechs, and other payment players who are looking to digitally disrupt the traditional financial services model, AFS is committed to providing leading, technology-driven financial payment solutions to its clients and their end-users, while developing the payment modes of future.

Mohamed Al Maraj, CEO, ila Bank said: “With the exponential rise in the adoption of digital payments, consumers expect smart, simple and effortless payment experiences in e-commerce. We have witnessed this in the success of our debit card portfolio proven by the significant increase of online transactions. This paved the way for us to expand our product suite, encouraging us to introduce our new credit cards, offering a fully digital user experience. We are excited to work with AFS, one of our trusted partners, to build on our efforts to bring innovative market-first products that reflect changing customer needs.”

“With ila Blue and Switch credit cards we are bringing a seamless product that not only offers exclusive benefits and rewards, but also holds the customer’s need for financial health and security at the epicenter,” added Al Maraj.

Regulated by The Central Bank of Bahrain, and majority-owned by Bank ABC, AFS boasts numerous ground-breaking end-to-end digital payment services and solutions. These span debit, credit, and Islamic card processing, merchant acquiring, fintech, and a suite of state-of-the-art value-added services. Its dedication to innovation has positioned AFS as a driving market force delivering a rich portfolio of payment solutions including popular digital mobile wallets, market-leading merchant acquiring services, Bahrain’s leading digital payroll solution, global contact centers and more. Providing the highest quality payments solutions that are trusted by businesses, AFS has offices and data centers in Bahrain, the UAE, and Oman.