Manama: Al Baraka Banking Group, B.S.C. (ABG), the leading Islamic Banking Multinational Group, and Mastercard, a leading technology company in the global payments industry, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at harnessing the two organizations’ collective expertise to drive the growth of the region’s payments sector.
The MoU was signed by Adnan Ahmed Yousif, President and Chief Executive of Al Baraka Banking Group, and Khalid Elgibali, Mastercard’s Division President for Middle East and North Africa, in the presence of senior officials from Al Baraka Banking Group and Mastercard at the Al Baraka Headquarters in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
The MoU will enable the Al Baraka Banking Group to tap into new opportunities for business growth and consumer engagement through Mastercard’s extensive suite of products and services. Al Baraka’s diversified network and the wide reach of its technologies and solutions in the Islamic banking space will further drive the adoption of the latest payment innovations across the region.
“Al Baraka is a leading provider of Shari’a compliant products globally and this agreement with Mastercard allows us to utilize Mastercard’s global expertise, which will further enhance our products and service offerings and capitalize on our large geographic presence and wide client base,” Adnan Ahmed Yousif, the President and Chief Executive of ABG, said.
“We are pleased to collaborate with Al Baraka Banking Group as we aim to further strengthen the payments ecosystem in the region. This partnership will allow Al Baraka customers to experience the convenience, security and innovation synonymous with Mastercard products across the globe. We look forward to entering a new era of cashless payments with Al Baraka,” Khalid Elgibali, Division President for Middle East and North Africa, Mastercard, said.
Al Baraka Banking Group B.S.C. (“ABG”) is licensed as an Islamic wholesale bank by the Central Bank of Bahrain and is listed on Bahrain Bourse and NasdaqDubai. It is a leading international Islamic banking group providing its unique services in countries with a population totaling around one billion. It is rated BBB+ (long term) / A3 (short term) by Islamic International Rating Agency and BB (long term) / B (short term) by Standard & Poor’s.
ABG and its Units offer retail, corporate, treasury and investment banking services, strictly in accordance with the principles of the Islamic Shari’a. The authorized capital of ABG is US$ 2.5 billion.
The Group has a wide geographical presence in the form of subsidiary banking units and representative offices in 16 countries, which in turn provide their services through over 695 branches. Al Baraka Banking Group has operations in Jordan, Egypt, Tunis, Bahrain, Sudan, Turkey, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Morocco, in addition to one branch in Iraq and two representative offices in Indonesia and Libya.