FEATURE
Key takeaways
• All we had to do was build packages for them and say this is the product
• Any business wanting to get into issuing payment cards of any type needs to invest in a Card Management System
• Because we had Switch , issuance platform , acquiring platform , we said let us get into managed services
• Our core competency has been issuance and acquiring at all points of time
• The core product remains the same but we can customise the product with any channels
• Ultimately the Card Management System and the Switching system become the core of any bank
• We are basically a spine of any bank who wants to get into business of cards
• We can now produce a card , issue a card and can acquire a card
• We have launched all the products for different banks around the region
• We want to give a channel where customers can make payments through our platform
• With what is happening in today ’ s world you need to derive solutions for a particular industry wanting to get into issuing payment cards of any type needs to invest in a Card Management System . Once this is stabilised , the types of products and schemes are added on and the payment channels and secure gateways are linked up . “ Ultimately the Card Management System and the Switching system become the core of any bank . Without this they cannot function .”
In order to expands its market opportunity outside banking , OMA Emirates has focused on demand drivers within select segments including insurance , government , retail , telecom , oil and gas . Using its core product offerings of issuance and acquiring , it has customised its solutions for these segments and integrated various channels based on customer use cases .
Niranj Sangal , Group CEO , OMA Emirates Group , on the significant progress made by the business .
Card issuance solutions developed by OMA Emirates such as Central Issuance Solutions and Branch Issuance Solutions are now being used by a large number of Middle East banks and integrate with other Card Management Solutions as well .
The entry into the market with a product that was priced significantly lower than incumbents , that was technologically robust and ahead of its time , for which competitors did not have an immediate alternative , has helped OMA Emirates gain a leading 65 % share of all cards issued in the Middle East
While OMA Emirates entered the market with its range of issuance products it soon moved to the acquiring side of products . These two areas have remained its core offerings across the years while it has added to spinoffs and value additions around these core areas . As an example , by selecting the right technology for its Switch offering it has been able to enter the ATM solutions market .
With the arrival of cloud and mobile technologies , OMA Emirates also provides the option of using virtual cards in addition to physical cards that are securely embedded inside a mobile device for example , and linked to multiple wallets including the E-wallet solution from OMA Emirates . Since OMA Emirates provides both issuance and payment solutions , its customers now have the choice of using its issuance products to manage virtual and physical cards and when their customers are making payments to provide them the choice of using any option of payment and acquirer channels .
“ That is where we have evolved . We do not want to be the ones driving our products to ensure people use it . We want them to use whatever product they are comfortable with . We do not want to give a service to render payments , but we want to give a channel where customers can make payments through our platform ,” elaborates Sangal . A partial list of banks that are using OMA Emirates issuance , acquiring , and personalisation solutions include , Al Hilal Bank , Bank Sohar , Bank Muscat , Oman Alizz Islamic , National Bank of Oman , Sharjah Islamic Bank , amongst others .
While the core competence of OMA Emirates has been its payment and issuance products , the complete solution does include the Card Management System . “ This is the heart of the whole system without which nothing can function ,” stresses Sangal . Any business
“ That was a key focus where we felt with what is happening in today ’ s world you need to derive solutions for a particular industry . The core product remains the same , but we can customise the product with any channels . All we had to do was build packages for them and say this is the product .”
Examples of such market specialisation within the product portfolio includes OMA Petrol Solutions , OMA Retail Suite , Loyalty Application , Health Card Solution , Gift Card and e-Purse Solution , E-Insurance Solution . Non-banking customers added through these segments include Qatar Insurance Company , Ski Data , Credi Max .
Sangal also cites the example of African telecom service providers and fintech companies who are opening up the market for mobile wallets and mobile payments . In the past African telecom service providers were restricting mobile money to airtime credit value transactions . Now users can make payments for multiple types of services from their mobiles without using only their airtime credit by connecting to other wallets .
“ For us earlier it used to be a telco driving it . Now that is not the case and it is value added service providers which are doing it . Africa has been moving towards a lot of value added service providers . They are opening channels for people to use it as www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO
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