SOMALIA’S FIRST ISLAMIC BANK GOES LIVE WITH IMAL ISLAMIC CORE BANKING SYSTEM

Premier Bank in Somalia has formally announced that it has successfully gone live with Path Solutions’ iMAL Islamic Banking & Investment System on the 29th of December 2014. The implementation of the new R14 Branch Automation in the latest Java version will allow Premier Bank to achieve its main objective of delivering superior customer service through innovative and quality Sharia-compliant products.

The new version of iMAL serves the bank’s purposes of focusing on its business growth, managing risks and controlling costs. With the cooperation of all parties, Premier Bank was able to successfully conclude its first go live phase.

Jacob Zachariah Karuvelil, Executive Vice President Global Professional Services & Global Support at Path Solutions commented, “This project had been unique and challenging in many ways with extremely short timelines; the iMAL new version, the high risk location and the need for multiple remote implementation tasks which included Web-based Training, User Acceptance Test and Go Live. Nevertheless, with great pride we announce that all of this was successfully managed and completed three days ahead of schedule, meeting the scope and project objectives as planned”.

And he added, “Phase I implementation covers System Admin, Accounting, Customer Service Management (CSM), Report Designer, SWIFT, Alerts (SMS Banking), and Processing modules in iMAL. Phase II implementation is already in progress and includes Facility Management System, Islamic Investment System, Provisioning, Profit Calculation System  and Integration Manager modules along with Internet Banking, ATM, and Mobile Banking”.

Premier Bank is the first privately owned Islamic bank established in Somalia. Licensed by the Central Bank of Somalia in 2014, the bank offers comprehensive one stop financial solutions to Somalia customers who include private and government institutions, corporate and SME businesses and individuals. Premier Bank products include Personal Banking Products, Business Banking Products, Trade and Finance Products, FOREX, Diaspora Banking Products, Mobile and Internet Banking, SMS Banking, International Money Transfer (SWIFT) Services.

“Working with Path Solutions has been a great experience; we appreciate the cooperation of their fully dedicated team and their in-depth knowledge in Islamic banking and technology”, said MahatMohamed Ahmed, Managing Director of Premier Bank. “This implementation was special as it’s been a fast core banking deployment for us. Now, we are able to bring all the advantages of the iMAL Islamic core banking suite to our staff and customers, including full Sharia compliance in all transactions, completely automated business processes, and unparalleled customer service”.

Path Solutions has a two-decade long track record of successfully rolling out iMAL Islamic core banking solution. The company’s cutting-edge Sharia-compliant software solutions help Islamic financial institutions respond strategically to today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.

Fully committed to innovation, Path Solutions is the only IT vendor to show top of the IBS Annual Sales League Table for multiple consecutive years, as the world’s bestselling Islamic software provider.