CTL successfully implements another Shari'a compliant card programme

Leading payment systems vendor helps ADIB implement Islamic card programmes

CTL Press Office, London, UK. January, 25 2005 – Card Tech Limited (CTL), a UK-based leader in the global payments industry, has again implemented its PRIME card and merchant management solution as the platform for a successful Shari’a card programme. This most recent implementation took place in the United Arab Emirates, at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB).

Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is a growing institution. It has built a leading portfolio of Islamic banking products, including card programmes built on PRIME, according to the exacting standards of its Shari’a Committee.

The bank’s PRIME solution currently contains the core PRIME card management features; modules for building loyalty programmes, for scoring applications and for managing collections; plus CTL’s ONLINE authorisation and switching engine and the NCRYPT key management tool. ADIB has additional options for expanding its portfolio with functionality from PRIME.

ADIB’s acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Abdul Aziz Al Mehairi said “Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank is one of the major financial institutions in the region, established in 1998 with the objective to tailor solutions to meet all the needs of customers in a transparent manner with Shari’a compliant products.”

He said, “Payment cards are a necessity and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, after years of research, came up with a unique payment card product, ‘The Covered Card,’ offered in VISA Classic, Gold and Platinum. This is a payment card where the customer can revolve the balance and pay in instalments – up to 55 days of grace period for payment. The Covered Card further provides ‘Takaful’ (an Islamic insurance) on travel, and ‘Purchase Protection.’ We intend to load the card with additional benefits to the customers in the coming months.”

“The mechanism of our Covered Card posed a challenge for the card processing systems,” said Mr. Al Mehairi. “We spent a considerable time assessing payment card system providers that would meet the current and future requirements of our unique payment card product. We are very pleased to have chosen CTL, which is a global payment card system solutions provider with a proven track record. We intend to expand our card business in many ways in this competitive market, including chip-enabled products, and CTL has the ability to provide ADIB with these solutions.”

“Fast, reliable and superior service and comprehensive products for customers are the focal point of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank,” continued Mr. Al Mehairi. “We have partnered with CTL to achieve these key business objectives, as far as the current and future plans of ADIB in the payment card world are concerned.”