Gigabit Magazine – August 2019

Delivering the Vision: A Technology Journey

HIGHEST STANDARDS OF SERVICE

FACILITATING SEAMLESS ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS

Proud to be supporting Al Khaliji Bank with

payment technology solutions

CARD & TOKEN MANAGEMENT &
DIGITAL PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
Respond to changing payment
preferences by creating
customer-focused product
portfolios that maximise
profitability across multiple existing
and new channels

TRANSACTION ACQUIRING &

SWITCHING SOLUTIONS

Maximise the performance of

payments processing with

best-in-class systems designed to

deliver operational flexibility and

multi-channel integration

ENTERPRISE FRAUD DETECTION

& PREVENTION SOLUTIONS

Rationalize and modernize

back-office processes to

increase efficiency and reduce

operational costs

WWW.VEDAS.WS

PHONE +961 4 417780/81/82 EMAIL [email protected]

WORLD CLASS SOLUTIONS

TO ADDRESS DOMESTIC AND GLOBAL IT CHALLENGES

In 2007 there was real excitement around a bank in the

Gulf that wanted to do things differently. Al Khaliji had a

powerful vision of developing the next generation of

banking services, using the latest innovative technologies

to fuel its expansion across the region.

Vedas was part of that journey from the early days. It was

Al Khaliji’s first local technology partner and remains a key

supplier of software and professional services – in fact,

the only partner still working with Al Khaliji twelve years

later thanks to its deep payments industry expertise and

ability to support the bank with continual innovation and

digital transformation.

Business Development Director Christine Rayes recalls

that “Banks in the Gulf were ahead of many of their

European counterparts because they were able to invest

in new technologies without worrying about legacy

infrastructure. What clinched the deal for Vedas was our

ability to offer instant issuance for EMV smartcards –

something that hadn’t yet been done in Europe, where

customers still waited several days for their new debit and

credit cards to arrive by mail.”

The Al Khaliji infrastructure created a full lifecycle

approach to card management, which was extremely

unusual at that time. It included EMV card issuing and

acquiring, as well as ATM and POS transaction switching

and kiosk-based services. Back-office functionality was

integrated on the same platform, including settlement,

reconciliation and dispute management.

Vedas rose to the challenge of helping to build this new

transactional banking ecosystem and began its enduring

relationship with the bank’s technology team. The age of

24 x 7 payment processing, with improved transaction

speeds, enhanced data availability and multi-channel

customer interactions had arrived. Al Khaliji was one of

the first banks in the region to move towards a flexible

and scalable service-oriented infrastructure for card and

non-card payments, setting the bar high for competitors

to follow.

Over the last decade, the world of payments has

continually evolved, with increasing need for open

architecture and easier integration of new services. Al

Khaliji’s original vision means the bank is always ready to

adopt new ways of serving its customers as their

preferences shift to digital and mobile channels and

e-commerce has become increasingly important. Here

too, Vedas is recognised as an industry leader, with its

unique combination of world-class solutions experience

and local knowledge. The company’s Apex suite of

software solutions is designed specifically to address the

functional and regulatory requirements of banks in the

Gulf region and to complement solutions from Vedas’s

global technology partners.

Since 2011, this suite of capabilities has grown

significantly to reflect the ever-changing payments

landscape. “Banks have been increasingly focused on

building customer relationships through loyalty, big data

management and analytics,” explains Christine Rayes.

“At the same time, we have developed extensive

tokenization and cybersecurity solutions to help clients

address the risks of doing business in the online world.”

Vedas has also become one of the region’s most

experienced and accredited providers of mobile

payments solutions.

The evolution of payments continues at a pace which

means that there will always be new technology projects

to enable change and innovation in customer-facing

banking services. What does Vedas see happening in the

Gulf market over the coming years?

Across the region, banks are facing increased competition

in provision of payment services, with new entrants

including technology platform providers and FinTech

companies. The pace of technology change is faster than

ever and there are big opportunities for innovation. Banks

need to define new strategies to enable rapid and

seamless delivery, focused on building strong

relationships with customers and increasing revenue by

introducing new services. Reputations will be established

on the ability to innovate and willingness to embrace the

next generation of new technologies. Security of

transactions and customer data will be key to success,

along with a focus on omnichannel payments strategies as

the differences between payment types and markets

become increasingly blurred.

In technology terms, this means handling real-time

account-to-account transactions, contactless and NFC

payments, QR codes, mobile P2P and strong

authentication solutions. There are new possibilities

presented by blockchain and future-proof payment hubs;

but there are also challenges associated with compliance

and customer demands in an increasingly global

payments market. Through its commitment to deliver

innovative solutions in this space, Vedas has expanded its

Apex Suite with new and exciting applications covering

all the payments solutions made possible by those

technological enablers, from blockchain, to instant

payments and tokenization.

“Vedas is on an exciting journey with Al Khaliji,”

concludes Christine Rayes. “We are very proud to have

continued this collaborative and trusted relationship with

a highly valued client. As payments evolution continues,

Vedas looks forward to supporting Al Khaliji’s vision for

the next decade.”

BIG DATA & INTERNET OF

THINGS SOLUTIONS

Unlock the potential of new

technologies to develop innovative

services which enhance the

customer experience

ENTERPRISE FRAUD DETECTION

& PREVENTION SOLUTIONS

Implement world-class financial

crime management capabilities to

provide enhanced protection from

threats and maintain customer

confidence

ENTERPRISE PAYMENT HUB

SOLUTIONS

Consolidate payments on a single

strategic platform to enable

real-time processing and create an

open, flexible infrastructure that

supports business evolution