Azentio's iMAL receives AAOIFI certification for 2023

Azentio Software, a Singapore-headquartered technology firm, has obtained complliance certification for the year 2023 for iMAL R14.6, the latest version of its Islamic core banking platform from the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). 

This certification reflects compliance with AAOIFI's Shariah and Financial Accounting Standards which include Financial Accounting Standard (FAS) 1 - General Presentation and Disclosures in the Financial Statements and FAS 39 - Financial Reporting for Zakat. Both new standards relate to financial reporting with the objective to make the financial statements of institutions transparent, fair, understandable and comparable. 

iMAL R14.6 focuses on taxation, reporting, dashboards, access privileges and automating manual processes. It includes enhancements to improve operational turnaround times by optimising technical processes, making them more efficient and secure.

Omar Mustafa Ansari, Secretary General, AAOIFI said: "By following and implementing AAOIFI standards in the right manner, we believe iMAL is mitigating shari'ah non-compliance risks. AAOIFI standards are now followed in no less than 50 jurisdictions around the world and iMAL's compliance with AAOIFI standards places it above others in these jurisdictions. Our continued collaboration is a testament to Azentio's ongoing commitment to follow best practices not only for itself but also for its clients which are the world's leading Islamic financial institutions."

Tony Kinnear, CEO, Azentio added: "Achieving AAOIFI certification for the latest version of iMAL signifies our commitment to provide our clients with the most advantageous blend of advanced technologies and shari'ah-compliant processes. We ensure that any financial institution running on iMAL has confidence that its products and transactions adhere to AAOIFI's evolving shari'ah and accounting standards. The certification should automatically provide confidence to all stakeholders that relevant shari'ah compliance controls and checks are adhered to by our clients."

Azentio's iMal R14.5 gains AAOIFI certification for Shari'ah and Financial Accounting Standards

Azentio Software, a Singapore-headquartered technology firm, has announced that iMAL R14.5, the latest version of the company's Islamic core banking platform, has successfully completed the annual certification review for the year 2022 by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI), the Islamic finance standards body.

"AAOIFI is here to protect the integrity of the global Islamic finance industry through the means of standardisation of best practices in the areas of shari'ah, accounting, auditing, governance, and ethics. We are pleased to complete the review of the version 14.5 of iMAL for the year 2022 to ensure its compliance with AAOIFI's Shari'ah and Financial Accounting Standards," said Omar Mustafa Ansari, Secretary General, AAOIFI.

"By following and implementing AAOIFI standards in the right manner, we believe iMAL is mitigating shari'ah non-compliance risks. Our continued collaboration is a testament to Azentio's ongoing commitment of following best practices not only for itself but also for its clients which are the world's leading Islamic financial institutions."

Mohammed Kateeb, Global Head of Islamic Banking and President of Middle East & Africa at Azentio, said, "For our core banking platform iMAL new version to be certified by AAOIFI, reflects our ongoing commitment to creating a truly differentiated value proposition. The latest advancement in financial technology has posed unprecedented challenges for incumbent Islamic banks to remain competitive. We are combining advanced technologies with deep knowledge of Islamic finance and embedding this into our new platform to help our clients transform, accelerate innovation, and achieve operational efficiency, while providing shari'ah compliance assurance to the Islamic financial services ecosystem. We ensure a compliance mindset in our design and development efforts, and continuously challenge ourselves to provide a unique platform that meets or exceeds the needs and expectations of our clients, always complying with the AAOIFI and shari'ah rules."

Azentio Software has over 800 clients in more than 60 countries and has offices in nine countries.

BankIslami Pakistan goes live with the PCS Java version 14

Path Solutions, a provider of Islamic banking software solutions, has successfully upgraded the iMAL*ProfitCalculationSystem at BankIslami Pakistan to Java version 14. BankIslami was the first bank to receive an Islamic banking license under the Islamic Banking Policy of 2003 from the State Bank of Pakistan. It has a network of 317 branches in 93 cities offering a full range of shari'ah-compliant financial products.

Syed Ata Hussain, Head of Information System, BankIslami said, "Armed with a solid implementation methodology and supported by a team of skilled and passionate consultants, Path Solutions was able to fulfill its commitment, and we were able to run the first successful PCS in Java version 14 in Pakistan. 

"We consider this implementation as a major milestone, as the course of the project involved exhaustive upgrade, internal testing phases, multiple user acceptance testing (UAT) cycles and three full scale application testing exercises to ensure uninterrupted business operations following the upgrade. Once again, Path Solutions was up to the challenge and we upgraded successfully owing to the tireless efforts of all teams involved.” 

The PCS upgrade is pivotal for BankIslami, which merged last year with KASB Bank and migrated more than 100 KASB branches to the iMAL Islamic Banking & Investment System. BankIslami needed several modifications to the software to broaden its operations spectrum in compliance with Central Bank regulations. 

The latest iMAL*ProfitCalculationSystem module is a Web-based application and can be implemented either on the Oracle or Sybase relational database management system. It supports all major browsers and may be deployed on any JEE Web/Application Server Apache Tomcat, Oracle WebLogic and similar platforms. The module's features include built-in control procedures and compliance with Islamic shari'ah, limits monitoring and exposure control, as well as credit risk measurement and evaluation.

According to Path Solutions, over 100 Islamic financial institutions are using its iMAL system.

Wolters Kluwer to power asset and liability management for alizz islamic bank

Source: alizz islamic bank. Ghalib.

Alizz islamic bank has signed up to use Wolters Kluwer Financial Services’ OneSumX solution for Asset and Liability Management (ALM). The bank will use the risk solution for balance sheet modelling, risk measurement, risk management and regulatory compliance.

Alizz islamic bank, which provides retail and corporate finance services, will use Advanced Financial Solutions as its partner for the implementation of the Wolters Kluwer Financial Services offering. A subsidiary of Midis Group, Advanced Financial Solutions specialises in providing software solutions and consulting services for financial institutions in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey.

“We spoke to several vendors and chose the Wolters Kluwer Financial solution, based on its ability to provide a suitably robust ALM framework for the bank,” said Ghalib Al Busaidi, Chief Financial Officer of alizz islamic bank.

“Furthermore, the reputation of Advanced Financial Solutions has been very good as the firm has successfully implemented several solutions for financial institutions over the years. We look forward to working with them to implement the OneSumX solution for ALM. This is an important investment for us and demonstrates our commitment to ensuring an effective and strong risk management culture.”

Electronic Reception Program tracks mu'tamirs till they arrive in KSA

The Ministry of Hajj in Saudi Arabia has implemented an Electronic Reception Program in time for this year’s season, which started at the beginning of Safar** and lasts for nine months, to ensure that the journeys are processed smoothly. 

The program electronically monitors all mu`tamirs* around the world from the moment they buy their service packages to their arrival at the Kingdom's ports. E-mails are then sent from the port to the employees in the Two Holy Cities to prevent any chaos or errors in finalising their procedures.

The ministry expects approximately six million mu`tamirs during this year's season. Dr Bandar ibn Muhammad Hajjar, the Minister of Hajj, stated that the Ministry has issued approximately 6,230,000 umrah visas, an increase of one million visas from last year, when 5,615,000 mu'tamirs arrived and 5,300,000 departed. On average, 400,000 mu`tamirs arrive every month, with a steady increase in Ramadhan, as the mu`tamirs are keen to perform umrah during this month, the ministry said. 

His Highness said, "Electronically monitoring the services provided to the mu`tamirs – especially during Ramadhan, which witnesses an increase in the number of mu`tamirs from inside and outside the Kingdom – plays a role in achieving the flexible and smooth management of such large numbers of mu`tamirs. Through the effective functioning of the E-track Program for umrah, the Ministry was able to keep a record of the number of visas passing through it from the first day of the umrah season at the beginning of Safar. These are submitted to the relevant authorities to complete the usual process until the mu`tamir receives the required visa.”

The Minister commended the efforts of the Deputy Ministry of Hajj for Umrah Affairs exerted by the General Administration for Umrah Companies and Establishments and the General Administration for Mu`tamir Services in connecting the network of umrah companies and establishments with the umrah e-track. 

*People on an umrah.

**The second month in the Islamic year.

NDC wins Temenos award for Islamic banking project in Yemen

From left: Ammara Masood, President, NDC, Behram Ahmed, CEO & Chairman, NDC, David Arnott, CEO, Temenos, and Navaid Kareem, EVP, Head of Marketing & Business Development, NDC, after receiving the Partner Project of the Year Award at TCF 2014.

National Data Consultant (NDC), a Pakistan-headquartered Temenos Partner for T24 Consulting and Implementation Services for banks, has been awarded the Partner Project of the Year award at the Temenos Community Forum (TCF) annual awards in Italy. Temenos provides banking software. 

The award was in recognition of NDC's outstanding performance in an Islamic banking implementation at the Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development. The project was delivered within six months and enabled the bank to be the first in Yemen to offer both conventional and Islamic products to their customers. In addition, having an Upgraded core banking platform in place enabled the bank to purchase Temenos Connect for digital-channel delivery. 

NDC Chairman & CEO Behram Ahmed stated, "NDC's footprint covers the entire Middle East and North Africa today and is a testimony to the investment in training of T24 specialists who are now deployed globally on projects. This long term investment in specialised human resource development, experienced project management and Temenos methodologies helped NDC to win the Temenos Partner Project of the Year Award."

NDC President Ammara Masood commented, "NDC winning this award for the second time in four years shows our continuous commitment to the quality and delivery capability as well as customer satisfaction."
 
Mike Head, Global Alliances Director, Temenos said, "We are delighted to have presented our Partner Project of the Year award to NDC, in recognition of its exceptional performance in implementing our Islamic banking solution at Yemen Bank of Reconstruction and Development. The dedication of the team to the project and the level of collaboration displayed were very impressive, and resulted in the very fast implementation. The project fully followed the Temenos implementation methodology, enabling the bank to become on the first adopters of the new Temenos Connect products for digital-channel delivery."