Bank Muscat and SAS Recognised for Best Data Analytics Initiative in the Middle East 

Their CRM Channel Integration project wins acclaim at Asian Banker Middle East and
Africa Financial Technology Innovation Awards 2018                    

News Summary:
·        Bank Muscat implemented customer relationship management channel integration for the growing business demands           using SAS marketing automation solution
·        The bank’s implementation of the system allowed for greater customer scalability
·        The bank’s real time data flow helped improve cross-sell

Bank Muscat, the flagship financial services provider in the Sultanate of Oman, and SAS have been awarded for Best Data Analytics Initiative, Application or Programme in the Middle East for 2018 at The Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Awards Programme. The awards ceremony was held in conjunction with The Future of Finance, Middle East & Africa, an annual gathering for decision makers in the financial services industry held at Conrad Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Bank Muscat engaged SAS to implement customer relationship management (CRM) channel integration for their growing business demands. The bank integrated multiple customer data touch points with the SAS Marketing Automation analytics engine to analyze the customer behavior in cross-sell offers, digital offers and promotions. This involves multichannel integration, including mobile banking, internet banking, automated teller machine (ATM), cash deposit machine, SMS and emails.

Bank Muscat’s implementation of the system allowed for greater customer scalability. The increase in customer reach through scalable solution implementation is helping the bank to increase the cross-sell revenue. In addition, the project improved operational efficiencies, increased lead conversion, and enhanced real time access to customer data, enabling personalised product offering for higher cross-sell. It also allowed the analytics system to act immediately on data such as customer transactions, eChannel activity, and branch to generate relevant cross-sell offers for the sales team. Transactional data was also used to generate trigger based events/alerts for other business teams to act accordingly.

Commenting on their win, Abdullah Tamman Al Mashani, DGM – Institutional Sales and Product Development, Bank Muscat, said, “We are proud to be recognised among the banking fraternity for our innovation-driven strategic initiatives. Our commitment to customers is key to providing industry-leading services and setting new benchmarks in banking excellence, in line with our vision and values. We chose SAS as our trusted partner on our journey to offer innovative services and products to our customers and stakeholders.” 

Abed Hamandi, Regional Director - Professional Services, Middle East and Africa at SAS, said, “Today, customer experience is taking center stage and price is no longer the only determining competitive advantage of an organisation. Bank Muscat and SAS, both believe that the key to ensuring customer satisfaction is capitalising on data and analytics. Our strategic partnership is built on the approach of delivering data-driven customer intelligence that can optimise marketing efforts and result in authentic customer engagement. Therefore, we are honoured to receive this prestigious award for this significant project, together with our most valued partner, Bank Muscat. SAS will continue to help partners and customers with intelligent analysis of data, enabling them to proactively foresee marketing trends, behaviours, and create a competitive edge to lead the market in the new digital era.”   

The Asian Banker Middle East and Africa Financial Technology Innovation Awards 2018 is a programme designed to recognise annual achievement pertaining to world-class products and customer services, as well as identify emerging best practice in the implementation of technology in banking operations. The programme witnessed over 150 submissions from financial institutions and their IT partners from across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. Each nomination was subjected to a thorough and comprehensive evaluation process to determine the awardees.

About Bank Muscat:

Bank Muscat is the leading financial services provider in Oman with a strong presence in Corporate Banking, Retail Banking, Investment Banking, Islamic Banking, Treasury, Private Banking and Asset Management. The Bank has the largest network of 149 branches, 645 ATMs & CDMs, and more than 18,000 PoS terminals. The international operations consist of a branch each in Riyadh (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Kuwait and a Representative Office each in Dubai (UAE), Singapore and Iran. Muscat Capital LLC, a 100% subsidiary of Bank Muscat, is a brokerage and investment banking entity in Saudi Arabia.