Jordan Ahli Bank

At a glance

Project year 

2022

Bank type 

Digital Greenfield

Cloud partner 

SaaS

Geography 

Jordan

Challenges

Jordan Ahli Bank was searching for a technology partner to revolutionise digital payments and launch ‘Qawn’, Jordan’s first-of-a-kind social payment app. Facing challenges with traditional core banking platforms, known for inflexibility and high change costs, the bank wanted to use cutting-edge technology to deliver Qawn’s innovative features and a streamlined user experience supporting remote account opening.

The priority was ensuring the app's compliance with both local and international financial regulations for a soft launch within six months, emphasising a user-centric, bilingual platform addressing real-life financial issues with elements of security, user-friendliness, and technological innovation.

The solution

To address these challenges, Jordan Ahli Bank partnered with Thought Machine to deploy Vault Core, a next-generation cloud-native core banking platform tailored to Qawn’s ambitious vision. Our technology enabled the creation and launch of the innovative payments app, seamlessly integrating social features with financial transactions. Qawn today offers a distinctive user experience with chat capabilities and QR code functionality.

Vault Core's Universal Product Engine ensured real-time operations and seamless integration with other technologies. Our product-first approach and robust engineering principles played a key role in navigating technological and regulatory complexities, enabling the successful launch of Qawn within the targeted six-month timeframe. This strategic partnership and adoption of cutting-edge technology resolved initial challenges and set a new benchmark for digital banking solutions in the Middle East.

Our story

Established in 1955, Jordan Ahli Bank boasts a rich history spanning over six decades, showcasing resilience and innovation in the Middle East's banking sector. Recognised as a major player on both regional and international levels, the bank blends traditional and modern financial services, adapting content to evolving customer needs.

Offering diverse services such as multi-currency accounts, e-bill payments, and 24/7 banking facilities, Jordan Ahli Bank's commitment to innovation earned it a spot on Fortune Magazine's list of companies changing the world in 2020.

This commitment is exemplified in the launch of Qawn, reflecting the bank’s ongoing mission to integrate cutting-edge technology with comprehensive financial solutions for a rapidly changing digital customer base.

The bank sought a next-generation core banking platform, and Vault Core's microservices architecture offered the necessary flexibility and agility.

Vault Core's Universal Product Engine, with its native support for Shariah-compliant models and products, has been instrumental in enabling Qawn to introduce a diverse range of financial offerings, including personal and business banking products. These factors made Thought Machine's Vault Core the compelling choice for meeting Jordan Ahli Bank's core banking needs.

127,000 customer accounts

With its innovative social payment application, Qawn has reached a significant milestone by reaching 127,000 customers. With all these users now seamlessly running on Vault Core’s single platform, the bank gains a comprehensive understanding of customer data. This enables precise insights into users’ digital money transfer behaviours, empowering the bank to tailor the service effectively for an enhanced customer experience.

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Leveraging smart contracts for superior account management

Qawn leveraged our Universal Product Engine to build tailored personal and business current account offerings designed with the customer experience at the forefront. This also included implementing vital account restrictions, such as remedial, deceased, and block statuses. These restrictions are pivotal in enforcing necessary account usage limitations, particularly in cases involving court orders or fund holds. The overarching goal is to ensure seamless compliance and effective account management.

Qawn has continued to harness the power of smart contracts to fine-tune these innovative products. Notably, they introduced a cutting-edge ‘remedial customer’ flag within our logic. This feature is instrumental in efficiently managing and holding due amounts from customer accounts and incoming transactions. This aligns seamlessly with their advanced risk management strategies, showcasing Qawn’s commitment to staying at the forefront of financial innovation and regulatory compliance.

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Lightning-fast transactions in one unified platform

Vault Core operates in real-time, enabling Qawn’s users to send and receive money and request payments from others––all within minutes. This seamless social financial experience is consolidated into one application, offering customers unprecedented convenience. Moreover, the app empowers Jordanians to open a bank account remotely, eliminating the need to visit a branch. The streamlined onboarding process takes just five minutes to complete, putting the power of banking at its customers' fingertips.

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Leveraging technology exposed with APIs for extended customer reach

Qawn's essential requirement was a core banking platform with exposed APIs, and Vault Core emerged as the solution. By seamlessly integrating with CliQ, a local payment switch in Jordan, Qawn empowers businesses to accept payments at a reduced cost. This interoperable functionality isn't limited—Vault Core ensures that Qawn can integrate with other platforms, payment rails, or services at lightning speed, opening the door to a world of interconnected opportunities.