Al Khaliji is the next generation bank
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Al Khaliji Commercial Bank P.Q.S.C.: Qatar’s ‘next generation bank’ powered by digital transformation WRITTEN BY
AMBER DONOVAN-STEVENS PRODUCED BY
K ANE WELLER
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A L K H A L I J I C O M M E R C I A L B A N K P. Q . S . C
In an exclusive interview with the Head of Information and Communication Technology of Al Khaliji, Saltuk Benderlioglu shares the transformation the commercial bank is undertaking to maintain its digital edge
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l Khaliji Commercial Bank P.Q.S.C is Qatar’s pioneer ‘next generation bank’, offering a full range of conventional
banking products and services to Premium, 04
Business, Corporate, and International clients in Qatar and France. Though the bank is little over a decade old, it has amassed awards such as Best Corporate Bank for two years consecutively, Best Private Bank in 2019, and Fastest Growing Bank. Saltuk Benderlioglu was part of the establishment of Al Khaliji when it came into operation in 2008. In 2014, he became Head of Information and Communication Technology. “In my role as Head of IT, it is my responsibility to steer our bank through the uncharted territory of unpredictable technology trends,” he explains. “This includes Internet of Things, machine learning, AI, data analytics, blockchain and robot advisers. In this role I need to understand the technological climate to ensure that our bank maintains its competitive edge.” He emphasises that, with the
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A L K H A L I J I C O M M E R C I A L B A N K P. Q . S . C
“ Security of data is always our first priority” — Saltuk Benderlioglu, Head of Information and Communication Technology
growth of technology, the need for information security only increases, adding that Heads of IT have a responsibility to ensure that new and creative solutions are combating cybersecurity challenges. Benderlioglu says that banks take years to establish, and that the company has adjusted its banking strategy over the years to match changes in climate. It has done this by initiating corresponding technology projects, such as core banking replacement. “Technology is driving
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the business environment, but when devising our business strategy, technology must always follow the business,” says Benderlioglu, emphasising that the most important factor in the company’s current transformation plan is agility. “This ensures that we maintain our competitive edge, and keep ahead as the ‘next generation bank’.”
BECOMING THE ‘NEXT GENERATION BANK’ “To be the ‘next generation bank’ is to be a step ahead of where we are in the financial services market in which we operate. This means remaining technologically advanced.” Benderlioglu warns, however, of the risk that
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘MEET JASSIM AND NOOR’ 07 accompanies this challenge, as
bank is technologically transforming
technological trends have the
to become the ‘next generation bank’.
potential to lead businesses astray
“Al Khaliji is moving towards cloud
from the market or business model.
computing with slow but steady steps,”
It is to this end that Al Khaliji proceeds
says Benderlioglu. “Currently, the
with caution and thorough analytics.
bank is focusing on hybrid options,
“The ‘next generation bank’ is able to
which means being able to run
make educated, high-quality deci-
services both from the cloud and with
sions, on the state of technology in
services on the premises.” In addition
order to remain a leader in financial
to this, Al Khaliji is building upon its
services,” he explains. “The other
AI capabilities. “AI applies first to our
quality of a ‘next generation bank’
analytics. Our IT strategy divides into
is maintaining appeal to younger
two major sections: transactional
generations of customers.”
banking and analytical banking.”
There are many ways in which the
He notes that AI is particularly relevant w w w.a l k ha lij i. com
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Implement world-class financial crime management capabilities to provide enhanced protection from threats and maintain customer confidence
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Delivering the Vision: A Technology Journey 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.”
Proud to be supporting Al Khaliji Bank with payment technology solutions
A L K H A L I J I C O M M E R C I A L B A N K P. Q . S . C
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to the latter, and that the bank is
from the beginning in order to have
working on systems to assist with the
a good analytics framework for your
decision making aspect. This includes
internal decision making.” Al Khaliji
aspects of compliance, which has also
began its implementation of analytics
improved with the implementation of AI.
internally, focusing on regular reporting,
“These areas are where we have our
management information, decision mak-
foot in the AI world, and our starting
ing systems and compliance. Bender-
point before we move to offering direct
lioglu attributes part of this success
AI solutions to our customers.”
to one of the bank’s partners, Tyconz,
Benderlioglu shares that the
which helped establish the founda-
adoption of these new technologies
tions for analytics. “We are now in a
is not without its challenges. “The
position to offer our analytical power
trickiest part of data and analytics is
to our customers, and we are in the
that the foundation needs to be right
process of preparing to offer this to
our corporate clients.” This will allow
Benderlioglu says that the largest
customers to access their own
challenge was managing expecta-
information in the speedy and efficient
tions. Benderlioglu is referring to the
way that is increasingly demanded by
wide variety of associations that can
today’s consumer.
be had with a robot, from basic
One notable innovation from the
automation to the most creative
bank is the creation of humanoid
science-fiction inventions. “We have
robots, Jassim and Noor. “Our
to ensure that the robot is always
humanoid robots are implemented in
presented in the context of banking,”
our sales strategy. As these human-
he elaborates. “This is a customer
oids can move on their own, we
service designed for the banking
present them at customer-based
population.” It is for this reason that
events,” explains Benderlioglu. When
the humanoids act as ‘ambassadors’
asked of the challenges presented
of the bank, and not a direct sales
when creating the humanoids,
point. Despite this, they have the
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Saltuk Benderlioglu Saltuk Benderlioglu is the Head of Information and Communication Technology at Al Khalij Commercial Bank. Mr. Benderlioglu has 20 years of experience in Banking Industry specializing in technology transformation projects. He joined Al Khalij Commercial Bank during the greenfield establishment of the Bank on 2007 and implemented a number of technology initiatives since then. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Ankara and earned his MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
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potential to act as a ‘lead’ for a
“To comply with GDPR, we have a sepa-
member of the sales team, should
rate storage facility for our European
they interact with a customer with
operations. When information needs
greater requirements.
to be exchanged for compliance, we
With the rise of Big Data, AI and
interact with European and, in particu-
analytics, the need for security is
lar, French regulations.” Benderlioglu
greater than ever. “Security of data is
notes that Al Khaliji’s vast knowledge
always our first priority,” asserts
of regulation also offers potential.
Benderlioglu, “and regulation is
“By understanding these laws across
paramount to a bank that operates in
different countries, it provides us with
multiple countries, as regulation varies
a better understanding of data and the
across regions.” This is particularly
new ways in which it can be utilised
relevant to Al Khaliji, as the bank must
in countries we operate in outside of
take into account compliance with
Europe. This allows us to provide
GDPR in its French subsidiary.
greater security to all of our customers.”
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A L K H A L I J C O M M E R C I A L B A N K P. Q . S . C
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“ Technology is driving the business environment, but when devising our business strategy, technology must always follow the business” — Saltuk Benderlioglu, Head of Information and Communication Technology
technological shift, and this has required effective communication and education both internally to our staff and externally to customers and regulators.” Benderlioglu said that overseeing this process was a challenge, as it is not an easy process, but Al Khaliji has done it exceptionally well. “If you fail to implement change management, you cannot conduct successful, large projects in sequence.” Al Khaliji has two offices within the bank that are responsible with coordinating this process: a small, effective IT office,
This knowledge is highly valued by
and an overall strategy for projects
Al Khaliji’s customers, as the bank
functionality that reports directly to the
communicates with every demographic
CEO. “The CEO office itself has a
of readership through its social media
strategy and project management lead,
platforms and corporate communica-
which works in full coordination with all
tions department. “Our customers are
the stakeholders, but particularly with
demanding,” says Benderlioglu. “They
the project and strategy office in the IT
want to know what is happening with
department. This is required of a fast
their data, and it is our responsibility to
paced bank like us, and this is what
reassure them and keep them abreast
makes us the ‘next generation bank’.”
of our updated security solutions.”
Should the bank need additional help with implementing a strategy, it
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
chooses to approach specialist
“We have implemented the art of change
consultants. “Boston Consulting Group
management,” says Benderlioglu,
assisted us and helped us with
reflecting on the transformation thus
implementing a new strategy a few
far. “We have been through a rapid
years ago,” says Benderlioglu. w w w.a l k ha lij i. com
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A L K H A L I J I C O M M E R C I A L B A N K P. Q . S . C
“ To be the ‘next generation bank’ is to be a step ahead of where we are in the financial services market in which we operate. This means remaining technologically advanced” 18
— Saltuk Benderlioglu, Head of Information and Communication Technology
Digital transformation has caused
a company that is right for Al Khaliji
a significant shift in culture, but
because it consistently develops its
Benderlioglu asserts that this has only
solutions with agility.” He notes that
strengthened Al Khaliji’s relationship
a long-term key partner is VEDAS, as
with its vendors. “Al Khaliji seeks a long
it supports Al Khaliji in the payments
term partnership with its vendors,”
sector. “It can be more of a challenge
he says. “We are diligent in finding the
to engage and maintain new technologies
right solution for us and our customers.
when attention is primarily focused on
We have our solutions customised for
the day to day running of the bank, but
us, and seek to fully understand and
VEDAS brings us the latest innovations
build upon each tailored solution.
and informs us of new technological
One excellent example is Temenos,
advancements across the world.”
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THE FUTURE OF THE BUSINESS
regular discussions take place with
Qatar is a fast moving economy, and
regulators, resulting in a modification
as Al Khaliji looks to the future, its
or introduction of policy. With the
strategy places it in a prime position to
conscientious nature of the bank,
remain at the forefront of technological
and its educated understanding of the
growth across the region. Benderlioglu
movement of the technology market,
notes that, as Al Khaliji presses on
it certainly will continue to establish
through its digital transformation, it will
itself as the ‘next generation bank.’
be pushed to reconsider regulatory boundaries. He adds that technological advancements move ahead of regulations, and so it is imperative that w w w.a l k ha lij i. com
Al Khalij Commercial Bank P.Q.S.C Asia Street 60, West Bay PO Box 28000 Doha, Qatar T 44940000 www.alkhaliji.com