The Banking Executive Magazine - January 2022 Issue

Al Rajihi Bank Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia SELECTS THOUGHT MACHINE TO BUILD A STATE-OF-THE-ART ISLAMIC DIGITAL BANK Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the world's largest Islamic bank by as- sets, Al Rajhi Bank of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), has selected Thought Machine, the cloud native core banking technology firm, to power their upcoming next-genera- tion digital bank and strengthen their position as a leader in Islamic bank- ing. Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia embarked on a multi-year digital transformation in 2021 and the Bank will deploy Thought Machine’s core banking en- gine, Vault, to launch a new digital bank in 2022 with a range of sophis- ticated retail and SME financial serv- ices, such as savings and financing products. The unique design of the Vault plat- form will enable Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia to deliver on their ambi- tions and launch an end-to-end next- generation bank. The bank will harness Vault’s Universal Product En- gine to design, launch and manage a full suite of products on a single, clear architecture. Furthermore, Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia is building a full suite of Shariah- compliant products and Vault’s prod- uct building capabilities will be instrumental in allowing the bank to build and offer services tailored to their customers’ individual needs. Thought Machine has been selected by a number of tier one and large re- tail banks and the company also works with smaller, agile fintechs and challengers. Clients include JP- Morgan Chase, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, ING Bank and SEB. In 2019, Thought Machine opened its APAC HQ in Singapore and was selected by Standard Chartered Bank to power their greenfield digital banking service, Mox. Across Asia Pacific, Thought Machine has more than 50 employees and continues to execute its growth strategy to supply more banks with cloud native core banking technology in 2022. ARSALAAN AHMED, CEO OF AL RAJHI BANK MALAYSIA: “We are launching a state-of-the-art digital bank which will be differenti- ated by its high levels of innovation, customer convenience and reliabil- ity. We are tapping into the vast po- tential in technology offered by our key partners to help advance towards our vision of becoming the #1 Is- lamic finance innovation bank in Malaysia. Thought Machine has demonstrated that its highly compet- itive services are supported by ex- ceptional technology and engineering. We are confident that Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia’s partnership with Thought Machine is a strategic decision for the future as we set out to build a digital bank unrivalled in its design and usability.`` PAUL TAYLOR, CEO AND FOUNDER OF THOUGHT MACHINE: “We are delighted that Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia has selected us to power their new bank. As a leader in Is- lamic banking, Al Rajhi Malaysia Bank has a considerable opportunity to launch an exceptional next-gener- ation banking service – and we have no doubt they will succeed. We look forward to working together to de- liver on their ambitious and exciting vision.” the BANKING EXECUTIVE 36 ISSUE 157 JANUARY 2022