Al Rajhi To Be First Foreign Islamic Bank To Join MEPS Service Network

Bernama :Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia will be the first foreign Islamic Bank to join the Malaysian Electronic Payment System Sdn Bhd or MEPS service network.

"As a trade-off, Al Rajhi Bank will give MEPS, a link to Saudi Arabia," said its director of retail banking, Sabry Ghouse, to reporters at a official signing ceremony between the bank and Lembaga Zakat Selangor (LZS) here on Friday.

The ceremony marked the appointment of Al Rajhi Bank as the LZS zakah payment agent for zakah Al Mal.

Ghouse noted that Al Rajhi is bringing value to the table whereby it will make available Saudi Switch, another system payment network,for Malaysia.

"We will make a proper announcement on this next week," he said.

It was reported last month that MEPS, an interbank payment network service provider, was talking to three foreign Islamic banks in Malaysia to join it.

Besides Al-Rajhi Bank, MEPS was hoping to clinch a deal with Kuwait Finance House and the Asian Finance Bank by the second quarter of next year.

"Within the next two days we will have the final word from MEPS on our participation. Everthing is more or less all right. We have formally agreed," said Ghouse.

According to Ghouse, the MEPS service network will make it easier for Lembaga Tabung Haji as well as Malaysians in Mekah and Madinah for the Haj and Umrah activities, as they do not have to take along a lot of money.

There are 1,800 Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Saudi Arabia.

Al Rajhi Bank has plans to expand its offside outlets and kiosks besides having some 7,000 MEPS linked ATMs nationwide.

"We are spending a couple of millions for a new branch in Sabah, six to 10 offside outlets and kiosks expansion, next year," he said

Meanwhile, Al Rajhi Bank Malaysia, the local unit of the largest Islamic Bank in the world, has plans to aggressively move into corporate banking next year.

To date it has 19 branches, 14 in the Klang Valley, one in Johor Bharu, Melaka, Penang, Sarawak and Kelantan respectively.

On the appointment of the bank as an agent for the zakah payment, Ghouse said that it was important in boosting its ever-expanding retail service and customer outreach.

He said the zakah payment was open to all members of the public and not just existing Al Rajhi Bank customers.

The bank only accepts zakah Al Mal which covers zakah of business, personal income, savings, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), gold and silver, shares,livestock and crops. As of June this year, Al Rajhi had a customer base nearing 100,000 and the number is steadily growing, said Ghouse.

He said the bank will initially make available an over-the-counter service at its Klang Valley branches.

"We are looking to move into payments via ATMs and the internet for individual and retail customers as well as cash management for corporate clients in future," he added.