Bahrain’s Bank ABC has launched a digital, mobile-only retail bank – ‘ila Bank’. The service is intended to be offered to customers across the MENA region. Arabic for the word ‘to’, ila promises to propel its users from where they are, ‘to’ where they want to be, enabling their long-and-short-term goals and aspirations through an extremely personalized approach to banking and financial management, aided by technology and data analytics, the bank added. Users will be issued a virtual debit card as soon as they onboard for immediate use for online transactions. It will offer flexible funding options including in-app integration with the payment channel. The offering also includes multiple foreign currency accounts that can be linked to a single card and users can transfer funds between these accounts without being charged excessive fees. Customers will also enjoy in-app full card control features, including set/reset pin, freeze/unfreeze a misplaced card, block and instantly reorder in the case of lost or stolen cards.
