The start-up Amana Bank is the first to provide Sharia-compliant banking products to customers in The United Republic of Tanzania.

Oracle was chosen to provide the back-office transaction processing environment to support a wide range of Islamic financial products and help Amana Bank grow its customer base in the region.

The bank chose Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking because of its proven success in adapting to meet regional banking demands and supporting Islamic banking business models.

Amana Bank's objective is to use Oracle FLEXCUBE Direct Banking to provide internet and SMS banking services, allowing customers around-the-clock access to account information.

With the new system customers will be able to receive SMS alerts to notify them of significant transactions. Advanced security controls will provide access to information in a safe environment, protecting customer data from any potential threats.

Oracle FLEXCUBE Islamic Banking Solution is fully Sharia-compliant and the customer-centric functionality of Oracle FLEXCUBE Universal Banking will allow the bank to provide innovative products to its customers, and use enhanced customer insight and simulations to deliver excellent customer service.

BFSI Consulting has been chosen to carry out the implementation of Oracle FLEXCUBE solutions

Dr. Idris Rashid, Managing Director, Amana Bank, Tanzania - said: "As the first Islamic bank in The United Republic of Tanzania, we needed to establish our services and capabilities to meet the demands of Islamic customers in the region. We selected Oracle because of its excellent reputation in adapting to regional banking demands. Oracle provides us with a scalable platform that will allow us to grow in the future and expand our services further. As part of our business strategy to offer anytime-anywhere banking, we're also working with Oracle to serve our customers in a virtual environment through internet and SMS banking."

Suryanarayan Kasichainula, Vice President - Africa Sales, Oracle Financial Services Global Business Unit said: "We are seeing increasing momentum in the uptake of Oracle FLEXCUBE for Islamic banking, and are excited to be working with Amana Bank to launch the first Islamic bank in The United Republic of Tanzania. Oracle FLEXCUBE's scalability and Islamic banking expertise will help Amana Bank grow its customer base and establish new products and services. By implementing Oracle FLEXCUBE Direct Banking, the bank will be in a strong position to maximise its return on investment and has laid the foundations to successfully expand into internet and mobile banking business solutions."