Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia selects Thought Machine to build Islamic digital bank

By Leandra Monteiro

Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia (ARBM), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the world’s largest Islamic bank by assets, 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-generation digital bank.

ARBM embarked on a multi-year digital transformation in 2021 and the Bank will deploy Thought Machine’s core banking engine, Vault, to launch a new digital bank in 2022 with a range of sophisticated retail and SME financial services, such as savings and financing products.

The design of the Vault platform will enable ARBM to deliver on their ambitions and launch an end-to-end next-generation bank. The bank will harness Vault’s Universal Product Engine 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 product building capabilities will be instrumental in allowing the bank to build and offer services tailored to their customers’ individual needs.

Arsalaan Ahmed, CEO of Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia said, “We are launching a state-of-the-art digital bank which will be differentiated by its high levels of innovation, customer convenience and reliability. We are tapping into the vast potential in technology offered by our key partners to help advance towards our vision of becoming the #1 Islamic finance innovation bank in Malaysia. Thought Machine has demonstrated that its highly competitive services are supported by exceptional 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 said, “We are delighted that Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia has selected us to power their new bank. As a leader in Islamic banking, Al Rajhi Malaysia Bank has a considerable opportunity to launch an exceptional next-generation banking service – and we have no doubt they will succeed. We look forward to working together to deliver on their ambitious and exciting vision.”