KUALA LUMPUR, 20 April 2007 — Saudi Arabia’s Al-Rajhi Bank will launch a new bank card in July for pilgrims in Malaysia to access easy cash in Saudi Arabia, officials said yesterday.

Pilgrims can buy a prepaid ATM card in Malaysia that allows them to cash in at Al-Rajhi’s 1,600 ATM machines in Saudi Arabia according to the amount they pay for the card, said its chief executive Ahmed Rehman.

Al-Rajhi, the world’s largest Islamic bank which began operations in Malaysia last year, is teaming up with a Malaysian company, E-Kencana Sdn. Bhd., to set up an Islamic Payment Switch to allow the electronic transfer of fund, he said.

Bank officials said the concept of the prepaid card is similar to the travelers check, but is cheaper, safer and simpler to use.

It is compliant with Shariah laws, as the card does not charge interest although users have to pay a fixed fee, said retail banking chief Sabry Ghouse.

Cardholders can withdraw any amount they like at any time and if they lose the card, their money remains safe and they just need to apply for a new card, he said.

It will initially be sold in Saudi riyals, targeting some 100,000 Malaysian pilgrims who travel each year to Saudi Arabia, he told The Associated Press.

“We plan to expand to Indonesia and the Southeast Asian region to tap the huge pilgrim traffic, which runs to hundreds of thousands,” he said.

The bank also aims to eventually target tourists and migrant workers who will use the card when they travel and to transmit salary back home, he added.

Ahmed Rehman said Al-Rajhi plans to invite other Islamic banks in the region and the Gulf to participate in the network in the next phase of expansion.

“We will move to cover other Muslim nations and thereby provide access to our customers to over 100,000 ATMs across the Islamic world,” he told reporters.

“We welcome this special Shariah-compliant card for our pilgrims,” said Abdullah Mohamad Zin, Malaysia’s minister in charge of Islamic affairs. “This will be a huge milestone in keeping with Malaysia’s vision of becoming the center of Islamic fortitude.”

Malaysia aims to become a regional Islamic financial hub, competing with Singapore and Dubai.