RIYADH, 23 March 2006 — In a move to serve customers in a high-tech way, Al-Rajhi Bank has launched some new services, including an innovative remittance service called “Cash Online”, which ensures delivery of funds to beneficiaries within two hours. “This service is available at all Al-Rajhi remittance centers across the Kingdom”, said Sami Al-Rajhi, chief of Al-Rajhi Exchange & Remittance Centers, here yesterday.
“At the moment, the Cash Online facility is available for 10 countries out of over 54 countries, where Al-Rajhi has its correspondent banks or have facilities to remit money,” he said. “We offer our clients the best services and we also offer them new products and services from time to time.”
Cash Online is available for the Philippines, India, Egypt, Jordan, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan and Turkey.
He said that Al-Rajhi remittance centers are fully geared to serve customers’ request to transfer money under the Cash Online scheme without additional fees. This is in addition to a new program under which the bank extends recognition to a loyal customer by issuing a VIP card.
“The customers holding the VIP cards will receive special treatment from the bank and will not be required to stand in queue”, he said.
Referring to many other innovative services offered by the bank, Sami said that Al-Rajhi also offers services like express remittance, internal remittances, foreign guaranteed drafts, travelers’ checks, drafts and foreign currencies exchange.
The foreign workers of the Kingdom alone have remitted more than SR585.4 billion in funds during the past decade. The money sent abroad by expatriates from 1993 to 2002 was almost double the amount they sent from 1983 to 1993 (SR291 billion.)
Referring to another new service, a bank’s statement said that it had struck a deal with Diebold, a self-service and security systems provider, for the provision of its biometric automated teller machines (ATMs).
“Diebold’s biometric Opteva ATMs will be deployed at social security offices throughout Saudi Arabia, where 400,000 retirees will use the unique geometry of their index fingers in conjunction with a magnetic stripe card to access monthly retirement payments,” said the statement.
The biometric technology replaces the use of personal identification numbers with authentication of identity. Diebold Professional Services will manage the implementation of 82 biometric terminals, providing overall development of the biometric software solution, and will create a customized user interface in the local language. Diebold’s biometric ATMs will allow us to expand our business by distributing government-mandated pension payments on a monthly basis.